Soar
by Deleted Account 1317
Summary: Cold and weathered medic Angela meets the newest comrade-in-arms, a soldier with the most beautiful smile ever seen. A multi-pairing Overwatch femslash fiction centered on Pharmercy. Features WidowTracer and SomVa.
1. Chapter 1

A/N for WidowTracer, SomVa fans: This is a multiple-pairing fiction centered on Pharmercy. Meaning that if you came to to read a fic with one of the two pairings as the center of the story, I'm very sorry but other stories would suit you better. If, however, you want a good femslash fiction with romance, friendship, and drama, I'll do my best to deliver it. Thank you.

1

All doctors have a mixed feelings for soldiers, and Dr. Angela Ziegler was not an exception. Causes or no causes, a soldier destroys life, the opposite of medicine. Even after 20 years of treating and healing soldiers, the particular feeling never really went away.

"Fareeha Amari, operating under the code name Pharah, newly reporting for duty. It is an honor to meet you again, Doctor Ziegler."

When seeing a young soldier, the said feeling returns to her strongly. A person who has only recently chose a profession that must kill are almost always, unlike the veterans who have lived through deaths and war, full of pseudo-bravery, youthful recklessness, and misconceptions upon honor and values.

On frank terms, Angela disliked young soldiers. And so, she did not expect meeting the newest overwatch member to be enjoyable. She would just wear her social smile, pass a reasonably social moment, and let it be. No sense in picking a fight with a comrade in arms. No need to become best friends either.

And that's where she would have left it, if the person in question was looking very much like a new soldier. She was not. Fareeha was giving her a bright, happy smile, as if they were best friends reuniting.

"...I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

This time, Fareeha's eyes drooped, showing disappointment and sadness clearer than words.

"D, Don't you remember me, Dr. Ziegler?"

Stuttering. Did she just hear a soldier stutter.

Fareeha must have misunderstood Angela's astonishment into disapproval, because this time she flushed, glanced around nervously, and fidgeted with her fingers.

"...I'm Ana Amari's daughter. We've met once, on... my 12th birthday."

"...Oh."

Suddenly Angela remembered. Once, in one of the most peaceful years of Overwatch, they had thrown a birthday party for one of their colleague's daughter. The image of a 12 year old girl─slim and small, childish face features─and the adult beauty in front of her─clear black eyes, beautiful muscled body─overlapped for a split second.

"So that's why you shared the name. Pardon me, captain Amari."

"No, it's really alright. I'd been just a kid then, I understand."

Fareeha said, waving her hands in front her, her face all red, eyes swimming, but still looking very much happy that Angela remembered her. Enough to make Angela feel guilty for forgetting her in first place.

But she had grown so much, Angela told herself. Fareeha had become a dark-skinned Egyptian beauty. With straight, clear brows, dark eyes deep and enchanting, mocha colored skin smooth as silk, and her hair, lustrous and long. She was not the kid hiding behind Ana anymore.

"...I really meant it when I said honor, ma'am." Fareeha said, "I've heard a lot about you from my mother. She told me how much a great doctor you are."

Normally, Angela would have said that the stories were exaggerated, since they mostly were. But Ana was known for not messing around with facts.

So she had no choice except to say, "Oh," and blush. It had been long time since she had taken a compliment full force.

Fareeha's smile was dazzling.

x

It has been a month since Winston has recalled the Overwatch members, and ironically it was the younger generations who had returned the most; McCree, Tracer, Genji among others. But if there was a representative for the older generations, it was Reinhardt, the German soldier and knight, who had, in absence of others, somehow became the elder of the community.

"So you have met Ana's daughter."

Reinhardt said, drinking down his beer. As far as Angela had seen, where soldiers stayed there was a bar, and Overwatch had its own stock of drinks.

"How should I put it..." Reinhardt frowned, "a nice girl, isn't she? Though I'm not certain I should say that to a soldier, a captain at that, but..."

"I think you got it right." Angela said, because what other words could you use to describe a woman who broke into sunny smiles, and gave puppy-eyes equally a lot?

Reinhardt chuckled. "I have hard time imagining Ana like that. She was more of a bellowing, guffawing type... but she's not Ana. I've never felt the word 'generation' as closely like this before, Angela. She's certainly reliable, soldier-like or not. She has been working for the Helix Security, and I know they don't name people Captain easily. They're not a ragged group of mercenaries, but an international security company."

"I have heard of the name," Angela said, "So she really is joining us."

"Do you have anything against it?"

"Not really. Just... I've known her─well, a little─since she was a kid. It somehow feels wrong, almost like recruiting a boy soldier. Not that I'd mention it in front of her, but still..."

"I understand what you say, however we..." Reinhardt thought for a moment, then, "Perhaps I could help you there."

In the watchpoint Gibraltar, they had a practice range on which they could practice their weaponry or tactics. Even though the sun had long set, Fareeha Amari, or Pharah, was there alone. But the place was far from silent.

Sounds of rockets firing, missiles crossing the air, explosions and destructions as practice bots were blasted apart. Heavy sounds of motor, engine, and exhaustion.

The Raptora suit was one of the grandest developments of contemporary human weaponry. A mobile suit that allowed a human being to fly without help of large machinery. Overwatch, before being disbanded, had a few members who used it as well, but it has become much more sophisticated and developed over the years.

A flying human being was always a grand sight to see, but Pharah wore the suit like it had been born for her. Angela stood by the balcony, breathless, as Pharah practiced her flight, aim, and her weapon.

She was majestic.

Angela felt like she had finally got to meet the woman completely. A nice girl, yes, that Fareeha Amari was. But a soldier, dangerous and valiant, that was her as well.

And she was beautiful.

Both of her were.

Fareeha noticed Angela by the balcony, and slowly hovered down to her. Her suit must be modeled after a bird of prey, and clad fully in her suit that was what Pharah looked like, a grand bird of prey.

Then she took of her sharp helmet, and she was Fareeha again, sweating heavily, but smiling the same bright smile.

"Did you come to see me?"

Fareeha said, excited, and Angela couldn't help but smile in return.

"So that is how you fight. I must admit, you are a person to be depended on battlefield."

"They are all new─Winston's upgraded practically everything I have brought with me! It used to be that I can only jerk up or not, now..."

Pharah put on her helmet again, than slowly rose up, hovering. So free in the sky.

"...It must feel wonderful."

Angela whispered what heart most felt at that moment, and she saw Fareeha's lips curve under her helmet.

"Would you like to see how it's like?"

Fareeha hovered back down, and offered her hand to Angela. It took a moment for her to understand what she meant, but when she did, Angela felt heat creeping up her cheek.

Hoping that the night would mask her, Angela held out her hand. Instead of grabbing it, however, Fareeha wrapped her hand around Angela's back, another at her legs, and then─

And then she was flying. They were flying. Fareeha's arms, strong and gentle, holding Angela's body up in the air.

Angela felt no fear. Fareeha's arms felt as if they would never let her fall, that they would take her across the world and still not falter.

"...Why did you choose to become a soldier?"

Watching the stars, Angela felt the question slip from her mouth.

"To protect the innocent."

And that was voice of Pharah, speaking from the utmost core of her heart. Not a phrase, not a sentence, but a wish.

The wish that was her core.

"When I had been younger," Fareeha said, "You, were my hero."

"...Me?" Angela was astounded.

"Yes. Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, the genius, the prodigy, the doctor whose researches has saved thousands already and millions to come. The first time I heard that... I thought you were the greatest person on earth."

There was a faint gist in her tone that suggested that she still thought so, but Angela, astounded, failed to catch it.

"But I... well, I didn't do too bad at school, but not enough for medicine. So I chose a path I could take, and take well."

They flew over the meditarian seas, the sky cloudless and full of stars. Starlight gazed down upon them, drawing a beautiful contrast of mocha and pearl.

"I..."

Angela wondered what she should say. There were a great number of things she wished to right now, but for some reason, what came out was,

"I really like your tattoo, by the way."

Fareeha blinked, then smiled, again that puppy dog smile.

"Really? I'm fond of it too, so I'm glad you said that."

"Ana had one very similar... am I right to assume that you took it from her?"

Fareeha laughed, and it was a very sweet sound to hear.

"I suppose it shows?"

"Your mother was a hero, Captain Amari," Angela said, "our greatest, maybe even the world's greatest sniper to exist."

"And I'm here, blasting things apart with rocket bombs." Fareeha said, "We don't have the most similar fighting styles, do we?"

Angela smiled. "I'm enjoying this flight too much to take my older colleague's side, though."

Fareeha laughed again, and took both of them closer to the heavens.

x

Three days later, Genji said to Pharah on flight board, "Are you nervous?"

They─Genji, Pharah and other Overwatch members were on a mission to Brazil. Part of the plan included seeking support of a local musician and protester; it also included blasting a Talon base to pieces after searching for information of new weaponry in it. A dangerous mission.

"I'm a soldier. I'm used to dangers."

"Pardon me for wrong choice of words, Pharah." The cyborg ninja said, "This is your first mission as that as Overwatch member. As one of us, one could also express. And first times always brings tension."

"...I won't say I'm not. But I also won't say that I am."

It was very hard to tell with his visor, but Pharah swore that he smiled.

"A soldier you said you were, and I must agree. Ana Amari would have been proud of you... may her soul be in peace."

"Thank you. But I don't think you don't know my mother so well."

"That is very interesting. I have worked with her until the end of the first Omnic Crisis. We went on many missions together. My impression was that she was proud of herself."

"Proud of being a soldier, yes, she was. But she would have preferred if I lived a more peaceful life. Running a flower shop or bakery, perhaps. She never said anything out openly, but... you just know how a family thinks of you."

"Indeed we do."

For a second, a strange sense of nostalgia was over him, then was gone.

"But you chose to become a soldier nonetheless. Your goal must have been set clear."

"...You almost sound like your jealous, Genji."

"A little. Most of my life was about what I didn't want to be, instead of what I wished to be."

Fareeha knew enough of Genji's lifestory to understand.

"I'm sorry."

"No, please do not be. I have been saved twice, and that is a very fortunate thing indeed."

This time, Pharah knew that Genji was smiling under his visor. She was getting better at this.

"Genji? Are you... oh, you must be Captain Amari. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Zhou Meiling, but you can call me Mei."

"The metreologist!? I know you, miss Mei!"

Fareeha broke into her smile, and that was when people realized that she was more than just another stone-faced soldier.

A sudden rush of introductions and handshakes started.

x

Only very few Overwatch missions required the entire army to move, and for today's mission Angela was one of the people to stay on the watchpoint.

That did not mean rest for the Overwatch's greatest doctor, though. Soldiers and mercenaries were always hurt one way or other, not to mention the medical support she served for the local hospitals. She was busy, always at that, and for her that was just fine. It meant more lives to save.

And now, Angela was working on Jesse McCree's shoulders, which he had got injured on one of the spars he had with other mercenaries. Quite a number had given their support to the new Overwatch, and McCree enjoyed their company more than 'the stiff, stoic bunch', as he described the soldiers.

But both soldiers and mercenaries were also great at concealing wounds and pain, so when a single brow was slightly raised, Angela knew she had messed up.

"Sorry."

"'Tis fine. Unlikely of you to make a mistake, though. S'mething on your mind?"

Angela hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. She knew McCree well enough.

"Have you met with Captain Amari?"

"The gal in blue bird-suit? Yes, I say... ah, you be worried about her." McCree tipped her a knowing wink.

"No! I mean yes, but no, not in a way like that."

Angela stuttered, and McCree raised an amused eyebrow.

"Well that's fine if you're not... though I'm worried about her. Worried mighty."

Angela flustered. "You are?"

"S'hoar"─sure, Angela translated inside her head─"A gun like mine could shoot her down in five shots. Three, if I miss none. Her rockets could be very tactically useful when we need firepower, I give her that, but... Jack's old rifle could take her down just as well, y'know?"

Angela's face grew pale, then blue. Her hands, always steady, began to tremor just slightly.

"Or, this might be unlikely, but if someone manages to shoot her with another rocket... she'd crash right to the ground, she'd. And then no one could help her."

McCree knew he was enjoying himself too much, but Angela's expression was priceless. The always calm, always stern medic decomposed... a sight worth dying for. Quite literally, considering he was playing with his own doctor.

"Or maybe, Genji's shuriken or Mei's icicle or something like can get stuck and she'd─"

"Jesse McCree, enough!"

And Angela pulled on the bandage in a way that caused the mercenary to scream.

The mission was expected to be completed in eleven hours. Angela spent that eleven worried, and worried very much about her.

She knew that she was being paranoid... obsessive, even. She was a army doctor. She was used to having her patients get hurt─die, even─in missions or attacks. She was feeling it, however. Feeling worried. And that feeling wasn't going away.

Fareeha's smile, bright and pure and clear surfaced on Angela's mind.

'Is this... favoritism?'

She felt her cheeks turning red from shame. That was not good for a doctor. All her patients were equal. There should be no favorites or hates; feelings dulled one's hands and clouded judgements. A doctor should be a mechanic, patients' bodies a machine to fix. That's what they taught at medical schools.

"Angela." A voice called, and she turned around to face Winston. "We need you in to meeting room. There's a riot in France, and we suspect someone's pulling strings behind. We need a healer to go with us."

"I'm on my way."

Angela said, and forced herself forget all about Fareeha right now.

x

Upon returning to the base after a succesful mission, Fareeha parted with her now comrade in arms, and headed straight to the doctor's quarters. It was past official visiting hours, but she had a little injury in her shoulders, something she would usually not have bothered doctors with, but this time... well, maybe she'll be a good patient for once. It was a very fine reason to see a doctor at late night.

"Doctor Ziegler?"

She knocked, but no response. She would have turned away, but the door was slightly open.

Fareeha looked around to check no one was watching, then peeked inside.

Angela Ziegler was sleeping, sprawled over her desk. Numerous files and papers were topped high as towers. Equipments that should not belong in a private quarter were too much in here, suggesting she carried her work here.

Hesitating, Fareeha entered, and drew lose to Angela, as if attracted by magnet.

In her sleep, Angela was devoid of all her hard and cold expressions, almost innocent. The mechanic that saw to all ailments and all pain, was for now, gone. And for the first time, Fareeha could see the girl under her, the girl who just wanted people to be happy.

Fareeha brushed her golden hair, and Angela smiled in her sleep.

Without understanding, without planning, and without intention, Fareeha knelt down.

And planted her lips by the golden angel's cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

2

When Fareeha Amari was little, the place she wanted to visit the most was the Overwatch Headquarter in Zurich. It was where she wished could work. However, even though she and Ana lived just a few miles away from the place, a military facility was not a place kids could easily enter.

So when she was told that as a birthday gift, the captain commander Jack Morrison had allowed her to enter the facilities, Fareeha was overjoyed at the idea.

The party was exactly what she had wished for; she got to tour the place, meet the heroes themselves, even eat and drink with them. She was seeing the legends themselves. Jack Morrison, Gabriel Reyes, Wilhelm Reinhardt and others─and then she met the person who she comes to remember the most. To think of most.

Angela "Mercy" Ziegler. The head doctor. The gifted medic.

Their encounter was not long. Angela could spare only a moment on the birthday of her colleague's daughter, busy as she was.

But young Fareeha remembered her cold, tired eyes and forced smile.

And the beauty that shined through even that.

x

When Angela awoke, there was a blanket around her shoulders, keeping her warm.

But when did she put them on? She did not remember putting it on herself... but oh well. It was certainly warm. Perhaps prevented her from getting a cold. Even in warm Gibraltar, she found that people could certainly get ones.

Angela realized just under her was the report she had been looking at before falling asleep. Well, back to work immediately after awaking, she thought, when she was interrupted by the sound of a door knock.

"Dr. Ziegler?"

Still sleepy, Angela answered the door, to see that Fareeha standing in front of her.

"Captain Amari? What are you..."

Then her eyes fell to the plate Fareeha was holding. Toast and eggs with coffee.

"You didn't come down for breakfast, so..."

Fareeha smiled. "Would you like some?"

"...I would indeed. Thank you, Captain Amari."

Then Angela noticed there were two servings of each.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked, then remembered with shame that her room was a complete utter mess, a mess that was showing clearly through the open doorway.

"I would indeed." Fareeha echoed, however, and stepped inside, making her way through stacks of papers and more papers everywhere, to Angela's workdesk, where she seated herself at one of the other chairs.

Angela sat down, and sipped on the coffee. The hot drink felt wonderful to the drowsy body, and Angela soon found herself digging into her meal.

"I bet you tell your patients to eat and sleep regularly."

"Guilty." Angela was surprised to find herself laughing. "But as they say, do as the doctor says, not how one does."

Fareeha nodded, smiling. "Too busy saving lives?"

Angela pointed to the file she had been reading.

"There is a plague in western African coast. That one's about a fatal chronic desease. And that one's about..."

Angela realized Fareeha had grown noticeably pale.

"I'm sorry. That was not a breakfast topic."

"No, I'm fine." Fareeha said, but Angela saw she now chewed with less enthusiasm.

"This may sound harsh so forgive me but... are you not used to death, captain Amari?"

"There are many kinds of deaths." Fareeha said, "I'm only used to one kind."

"...I'm not." Angela spoke, in a voice that was only as loud as a whisper. "I'm used to all of them."

There was a silence, in which they finished the rest of the meal. Then Fareeha stood up.

"Let's get outside."

It was a beautiful mediterrane day, with dazzling sun and deep blue sky. They walked, side by side. They both had habitually fast strides, but today they did not, taking each step slowly.

Angela attempted at small talk, and found it surprisingly well received. If they shared an interest, the conversation sprang. If they did not, they found each other a wonderful listener.

"Say, do you have some time later, Dr. Ziegler?"

"Sorry, but no, and you can call me Angela, captain Amari."

"Only if you call me Fareeha."

"A deal... Fareeha."

Angela pronounced the foreign name, and loved the sound it made on her tongue.

Fareeha blushed, and scratched at her cheeks before saying,

"Alright... Angela."

And a very fitting name for her, Fareeha thought.

"Well, perhaps you have time a few days later?"

"I'm really sorry, but..."

"...You must do something to relieve stress at least."

Fareeha said, and Angela swore that she had just seen her pouting. A soldier pouting.

"Well, of course I do. Just last... last..."

Angela searched her memories, and came out blank.

"Last when?"

Fareeha asked, and saw a sweat rolled down Angela's temples.

"Well... I must have taken it sometime, right? No worries, no worries!"

Angela managed a half-hearted laugh, and Fareeha stopped, took her by the shoulders, and made her face her.

Her grip was very firm, very strong, and felt very safe.

"Angela." Fareeha said. "Everyone needs rest. You need rest."

"B, But I can't. There are so many things for me to do and─"

"You're not a God! You have limits!"

Fareeha bursted out, but Angela

"No one else can do what I do!"

Angela shouted. And it was the truth.

But when she did, she felt a sudden flow of warmth down her cheeks. They were tears.

Angela realized she was crying and could not guess why.

"...Tonight. You and me."

Fareeha said, slow but stern.

"Just one night off, Angela. Please."

Angela had no choice but to nod.

x

Fareeha said casual clothing, and Angela wondered if plain skirts and shirts would suit. She decided to put on just a little makeup, mascara and eye shadows, maybe.

They had decided to meet outside the Watchpoint, Angela not wishing people to knew she was taking a rest. Fareeha was disaproving, but followed.

Upon entering the cafe they had decided beforehand to meet, Angela was greeted by the sight of Fareeha, clad in denim vest, black top, and white jeans.

'Casual enough.' Angela thought. Then Fareeha caught her eye, and she smiled a smile that lit the entire cafe up.

Again that smile. Angel loved seeing that smile. It made her feel so warm inside.

"Sorry. Did you have to wait?"

"Only a little, don't worry."

Fareeha ran her eyes up, down, then said, "You look beautiful."

"Why, thank you. That's so nice of you."

"I mean it, Angela."

Fareeha proceeded to order coffee for both of them, and when she returned, Angela asked, "So, how are our plans tonight?"

Fareeha pulled out two strips of paper from her pockets─she didn't carry purses, Angela noticed─which turned out to be concert tickets. To a famous rock band.

"Rock concert?" Angela asked, astounded, "That's what you had in plan?"

Fareeha raised her brows. "Don't you like one?"

"I've never went to one before, so..."

"Oh you'll love it," Fareeha said, "You're a very stressed person. Stressed persons all love rock concerts."

"...I'm not that much stressed."

"Oh yes you are. Extremely stressed."

"Am not."

"Am too."

Fareeha burst into laughter at that, making Angela realize just how childish she had been.

Their coffee was served, and she sipped on it to mask her embarrassment.

x

Angela did love it.

She had never felt the term blasting music before, and indeed they blasted, pitching from high, growling low, screaming loud, crying soft; blasting away everything annoying, disgusting, bothering, frustrating, idiotic, stressful, all the garbage inside her.

"Whooooooooooooooo!"

Angela screamed as the music drew out, heavy sweat running down her face. She felt alive, so much alive. And she could tell everyone here was feeling exactly the same, including Fareeha, who was watching Angela enjoy the music, laughing and smiling and loving it. Happy that Angela was happy. Happy that she made Angela happy.

"That was amazing!" Angela shouted as they exited to concert hall, her breathing still rough, her eyes still sparkling.

Fareeha wondered if she could hold her hand now. Take that warm, soft palm again her own.

"Hey beauties!"

Fareeha turned, and saw that there were a group of men, apparently drunk from more than just music by their looks of it. She came very close to cursing, and only that Angela would hear stopped her.

"Sorry, but─"

"Sorry!" Angela said, and to Fareeha's surprise, took Fareeha's hand. "We've already got company!"

And before anyone could say anything, Angela ran away, still holding Fareeha's hand.

"A, Angela!?"

"Come on!"

Angela turned, and in that moment, Fareeha was stunned.

Angela was laughing, laughing as if the world had showered her with joy. Starlight and city light both bathed the golden angel in their glory. She glowed. She shined. And she was the most beautiful thing Fareeha had ever seen.

It was when they had gotten a good deal away from the concert hall they caught a cap, and Angela was still laughing. She still went on for a good deal before calming down, wiping down streaks of tears from her eyes. Only then did Angela realize they were still holding hands.

"Sorry, sorry!" She let go, and laughing, failed to notice Fareeha's disappointment at the action.

"It's quite alright." Fareeha said, "And by the way, we're almost there. You must be hungry, right?"

And the cap pulled of to a fine Spanish restaurant.

x

Contrary to the popular belief, Angela did understand fun existed, that it was good, and that it should be taken regularly. And today was one of the best days she had in her life.

The concert was a big part of it, but it was not the greatest. The greatest was the presence of the girl─woman─beside her right now. It was her who was making this night so much special, giving her so much joy. Every time she heard Fareeha laugh, watch her smile, the happiness transpired to her so quick and easily.

Angela loved Fareeha's laughs. They made her feel so much relaxed, as if life was not that hard, things were not that grim, and people were not that bad.

She ordered wine, which they shared, and pretty soon they were both tipsy, words flowing out better than ever.

They talked about everything. She felt like she could tell Fareeha everything and not care, and she could listen to Fareeha speak everything and not care either.

Somewhere during the night Fareeha shyly reached out her hand, and Angela gripped back.

x

"Angela? I need you to─Angela?"

Lena Oxton, more known to the world under the code name Tracer, peeked into Angela's quarters to find no one. Strange. Angela could be counted for being either in a) the medical room b) her quarters, period. Perhaps she went to the bathroom?

It was then Lena heard noise from across the hall. When she turned, she saw Angela, being almost carried by the newest girl on team, Fareeha.

"Hey, Angela!" She blinked close, making Fareeha jump slightly. "Whoa, you actually reek of booze! Nice seeing you actually chilling for a change! Were you with her─ohhhh!"

Lena grinned at Fareeah, who gulped. She was pretty drunk too, but no way like Angela was, who was slurring gibberish.

"You two were together! I don't know how you managed to pull it off, but congrats! Really congrats!"

"Wait, Miss Oxton! This isn't how you think─"

"Hi Lena!" Angela giggled and waved, "And what do you mean, Faree? We were together, weren't we?"

'Faree,' Lena thought to herself, 'oh this is rich. This is richer than the ancient Bill Gates.'

"I'm not believing this! You got a girl drunk and brought her back to her quarters!? Civility died out in 19th century, Fareeha!"

"Well they certainly did not in Egypt!"

Flushed and her face all red, Fareeha was the perfect teasing material, Lena discovered.

"It is not... civil to... to enter bedroom together while not in an relationship!"

"Ah, so you want to be in a relationship before entering the bed together. Romantic! I like that!"

"I─no─I mean─!" Fareeha stuttered, her face now so red she could compare to tomatoes.

"Well, guess I won't bother you! Have fun! Cheers, loves!"

Tracer than blinked herself out of harm's path, before Fareeha finally decided she was going to shout.

With no one to shout to, she had no choice but to sigh instead. Angela had fallen asleep, and she carried the older woman in her arms, just like that night they had flown together.

Fareeha layed her on the bed, then wondered. Should she just leave her like this, or at least help her remove the most uncomfortable clothing? But should she really unbutton a drunk woman's shirt for her? Wouldn't that be harassment?

Suddenly, the memory of last night hit her full force. Fareeha remembered how smooth and dear her cheeks felt when her lips met with Angela's cheek.

Angela was just here, her eyes closed as if in wait, her lips, beautiful pink, enchanting. Fareeha wanted it. Wished for it. To press her lips against her own, and claim her.

To kiss her.

Fareeha felt herself being drawn. It felt foreign, as if it was not her own body but other's. There was fire inside her though, and the fire she felt like it was her essenece.

Closer. Just a little more, to claim the angel. Her angel.

Closer. Closer. Closer─

Angela reached out and her hands were wrapped around the first thing they found and she drew closer taking comfort from the warmth.

Fareeha drew a shuddering sigh.

Then let it go.

No. She will not. In Angela's arms, Fareeha swore. This time, she was going to face her straight toward. And take what she wanted with approval.

Of the angel.


	3. Chapter 3

3

The new-found Overwatch was technically illegal, with the Petras act still very much alive, but it was still a very powerful organization, and very powerful organizations gather attention. Part of the attention appeared in the form of members sent from other organizations as semi-mercenary, semi-helping-hands, semi-spies, and one of them was named Hana Song, member of South Korean MEKA, also a professional gamer, and she was being the last on this fine weekend morning,

"And what do we play today? The Witcher X? Bloodborne V? Elder Scrolls VII? Noooooooooooo we play... Starcraft 6!"

Hana yelled into her mike, checked the number of Twitch streamers, then opened the game. Excitement flowed out at the chat corner as the legend came back to her field.

"And here we gooooooooooo!"

Hana screaming and downed mountain dew.

x

For soldiers, resting days and weekends were not the equal thing, but when they did the excitement always went high. Save a few members, everyone was out doing whatever the hell they wanted to do. Tracer took a ship to England to hit the pubs, Mei was playing ping-pong with Genji, Hana was in her room gaming, Reinhardt was hitting Spanish beer spots(and bragging how German beer was the best in the world), Torbjorn focused on his Legos(the restriction was what made it fun he claimed), and others and others, all doing whatever they did to take their stress off and prepare for upcoming work and battles.

And of course, Angela was the exception, working.

Fareeha did not like that. She would have preferred if she was resting. Fareeha wouldn't have cared whatever Angela was doing, since she could be with her then. Just chilling out on the couch for entire day sounded wonderful to her.

But she also knew that her work was a great part of what made Angela herself, and so that she should leave her to it. Angela not a medic was unimaginable, and that was more to Angela than anyone else.

So what to do with the free time?

When she was working in the Helix, Fareeha would have spent the hours reading or taking nap, preferably the latest Egyptian best sellers, but only half her luggage had so far arrived. No books to read, only foreign shows on TV... so she decided to just wonder around.

She went to the training room, which had a fair share of gym supplies. She had expected Aleksandra Zaryanova there, but apparently she had other plans, for the gym was empty. Fareeha completed her daily tasks, then went to take a shower. And there, she met with someone she hadn't expected.

"Pharah?" said ─Hana, Fareeha told herself, that was her real name─as she entered the showers all sweaty.

"...I didn't see you at the gym. What have you been doing?"

"Gaming, of course!" Hana stood, sweaty and tall and proud as she said that, and Fareeha could only say, "oh."

Hana began to take off her clothes without any hesitation what so ever, and Fareeha couldn't help but get a little red at the cheeks. The girl had a very slender body, sleek and beautiful and without any unnecessity whatsoever. Breast modest but firm, waist tight and slightly muscled.

Fareeha turned her eyes away, took off her clothes as fast as she could, and stepped inside the stalls, where she had privacy. She had no idea that Hana had been staring at her body, mouthing a silent 'Wow' at the Egyptian soldier's beauty.

"Hey, Pharah!" Hana stepped into the stall right next to Fareeha's and called, leaning over the stall.

"Y-Yes?" Fareeha said awkwardly. They had yet to become friends.

"Do you have some time from now?"

x

'Why am I doing this?' Fareeha asked herself, as Hana yelled into the mike.

"Okay people! And here's 's new corner... 'Let's make a newbie gamer play Dark Soul XII'! Today's special guest here, Fareeha Amari, but you guys can call her Pharah!"

Fareeha was gripping a video game controller, which was connected to the PS9, which was connected to the large monitor that was supposed to be for plan briefings, to which Hana had connected everything necessary for a game stream.

'Is this even alright? I'm pretty sure Winston wouldn't─'

"Right, so on with the journey for Pharah! A word, please!"

"Uh, um, h-hello?"

Pharah wasn't sure where she was supposed to be looking when talking, which made her look all over. She felt nervous, both at the stream and the game itself. What she didn't know was, with her shyness, clumsiness, and looks, the number of people watching and commenting was climbing steeply.

"Pharah, smile!" Hana said, laughing. "Just enjoy it!"

Fareeha tried her best attempt, and actually managed to smile despite her nervousness. The comments flowed more than ever, which she also didn't know.

"And... on with the journey!"

x

What Fareeha did not know was, that the Dark Soul series was a game famous for its insane difficulties. For the first ten retries, Fareeha was like this:

"What!? That's─ Oh come on! How the hell was I supposed to see through that! Aarrgh!"

"I could give you a hint if you want, y'know."

"No, I'm getting this down myself! Stay back!"

After the tenth, Fareeha became like this:

"...Uhm, Pharah?"

"Enemy incoming from 11'o clock. Initiating combat─"

She was sitting there, gripping the controlers like they were her weapons, the bosses real-life enemies, talking like a soldier, and her face changed dramatically.

"Sword-weapon, reach five-point-five meters─"

"Pharaaaaaaaaaaah?"

"Pharah reporting."

Her face was stern and hard.

And so very handsome.

Very, very, handsome.

"Enemy destroyed. Pharah proceeding in 12 o'clock direction. Enemy engaged. Initiating combat."

And so Fareeha proceeded, working through bosses like each and every one of them were real-life combat, coming out victorious every time.

It was more than enough to make a gamer girl's heart flutter. They had a little when she had seen her at the showers, but this time it was more serious.

Hana, both gamer and soldier, found herself staring at Fareeha.

And stare.

And stare and stare.

x

When Mei entered the headquarter on the way to her room after a very refreshing and victorious game of ping-pong, she found two girls sitting in front of the large screen, on which credits were flowing.

The two girls proceeded to fall back at the exact same time.

"A newbie cleared it... I still don't believe it but... congrats, Pharah."

"...Thank you. This has been one of the most exhilarating thing I've ever done in my life."

They fist bumped like old comrades, then broke out in laughter. Mei smiled at the sight and approached them.

"Having fun, girls?"

"Oh, Mei! Hi!" Hana said, her enthusiasm the same.

Mei noticed Hana looked... happy. She was always happy when she was gaming, but something seemed different now. More.

It was only when they went to take a shower togetehr, again for the two, she realized what it was. Realized it in the way Hana's eye lingered on Fareeha. The way she listened carefully when Fareeha spoke. The way she laughed at the tiniest things.

'Oh.'

Mei thought, and smiled a secret smile.

x

Angela's personally developed nano technology made instant healing possible, but it was costly, and was rarely used outside immediate battle. The daily tasks she immerged herself with were that of more common medicine, ranging from small cuts to major operations to giving prescriptions.

Just today, she had two operations: one was a broken bone which refused to mend straight. The other was removal of a malignant tumor. She was now in her office, taking coffee, giving her body the minimal rest before returning to work; she had to send back a consult via email, see three more patients, work out a prescription for another, and all of that in an hour. After that she had yet to make a plan, but she knew there was work. There was always work. People were always getting hurt or getting sick so much she sometimes felt like she was baby-sitting kinder gardeners.

She was feeling exceptionally well today, though. Most days, she would have been feeling rather weary by now, but no, today she felt full of energy, and she knew exactly who she should thank.

Angela took in a deep breath, and thought of Fareeha.

There was a new step in her as she called in her next patient. Satya Vaswani, also known as Symmetra, was another one of the help sent from Vishkar industries.

"Good evening, doctor." Satya said as she entered, and sat down. "It's my arm. I seemed to have pulled something wrong."

"Is there any pain?"

"When I try to bend my arm like this... yes. This way... no."

Angela felt around and made her diagnosis. She had more than enough experience to make it in an instant.

"You have hurt your ligament. I'll bandage it for you, and make sure you don't move your arm the wrong way for two weeks."

"...Two weeks?"

"Would there be a problem?"

"I rely heavily on my arm for battles, and I must make a sortie tomorrow."

"Alright, then I'll make it that your arm will be fine within this day."

Nope. Her feelings were suddenly down at the thought of the budget. Wearily, she called the next patient in.

When Angela had finished all her work for the day, it was late into the night, as always. And when she stepped out of her office, she saw that someone had been waiting for her.

"Hey."

It was Fareeha, with two cups of hot chocolate in her hands.

"Fareeha." Angela heard joy in her own voice. Fareeha held out the hot chocolate, and Angela took it with gratitude.

"This is delicious," she said after a sip, and it really was. Rich, creamy, and a hint of bitterness that added depth to the taste. To the tired body it went down very nicely, taking away fatigue.

"Why are you here? Do you have something I need to see?"

"...Can't I come for you when without a reason?"

Angela laughed. "As long as not in working hours, you're very welcome indeed."

Fareeha noticeably brightened at that.

For a long while they chatted, just small stuffs, but they talked for a long time and both enjoyed it very much. And for a long time they stood together at the balcony, letting the moon and stars shine over them.

Neither of them noticed the girl who was staring at them behind the wall, mostly Fareeha for the longest time, then turned her heels away, her mind troubled and heart clouded.

x

"Oh, Miss Song. I've been looking for you."

"Huh? What is it, Winston?"

Hana turned and faced Winston, who had caught her on her way to her quarters.

"We need you on a mission tomorrow. I'm sorry to say it this late, but a trouble broke out in middle-east."

"Oh." Hana said. Well, it would be a great way to kill some feelings. Feelings that had just yet to bloom.

"The ones assigned are you, Tracer, Symmetra, Reinhardt, Lucio... and Pharah, among other perople."

"...Huh? Come again?"

"You, Tracer─"

"No the last one."

"Pharah?"

"She's coming? Really!?"

Winston looked perplexed.

"She's just perfect for covering the lack of range firepower. Is there any problem with her, ?"

Problem? As Hana Song? Hell ya. As ? Nothing she could think of.

"No... I guess not."

"She's a very talented and capable soldier." Winston said, mistaking her concern into something different. "She has a long track of accomplish missions, despite her young age. I'm sure you'll find her a wonderful comrade-in-arms."

"Yeah..." Too wonderful perhaps, Hana thought.

x

There has been a small-scale omnic rebellion in Saudi Arabia, and Overwatch had been called for help. They were to help protect a hospital that was also being used as a refugee center in coordination with the local army. The extermination of omnics will be carried out by the local army.

The mission was simple, but difficult. So much people were focused in a single place, and that always meant trouble. Even though war-fire was raging outside, people always managed to find one. In this field, Symmetra, whose rigid style usually caused troubles, showed herself surprisingly efficient and capable at managing them. She with Lucio was to take care of the refugees. The rest were out for combat.

Hana and Fareeha were both posted outside, watching out for signs of attacks. The omnic army had attacked three times so far, each time fewer, all of which they had held off. There was no talk between them save only necessary ones. Pharah was completely a soldier now, and soldiers did not make chit-chats.

"They're coming!" Shouted Hana, as she spotted movement out in the open, barren field.

The fire broke out.

x

Fareeha flew.

She flew, navigating through the sky, taking down her enemies, causing rampage, causing destruction. Metalic shards flew in all directions as her rockets landed.

"Behind you!"

Hana's voice. Fareeha shot, no time to see, and heard clear explosion as airborne unit was destroyed. Smoke and fire cloaked her over for a second, and she heard a scream.

"Pharah!"

x

'No, no!' Hana thought for just one second. A second unforgiven in battle.

She was surrounded in that split second, and was fired on by the next.

'Shit.'

She had just one moment to activate the booster, but saw that an airborne unit just like Fareeha had destroyed was coming from above.

'Shit.'

She repeated, and embraced for whatever was coming.

"Get out of the mech!"

Hana heard, and hit the emergency switch before she even knew whose it was. The girl flew out, only to fall in the sea of omnics─

She was in a steady set of arms, cool breeze on her cheeks, and her eyes met with that of Fareeha's.

"Are you alright!? Reinhardt, now!" Pharah yelled, and Reinhardt lowered his shield. His neck muscles burged as he─

"Haaaaamer doooooooown!"

Shattered the earth itself.

"Ah!? Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Hana screamed as she was thrown straight upwards. From above, she heard Fareeha yell.

"Rocket barrage, incoming!"

Then a storm of rockets destroyed everything on earth.

Hana watched it all from above.

And she thought, how beautiful.

How beautiful she glowed in battle.

Then she felt gravity pull down. She didn't panic, though. Because she knew.

"Are you alright, Hana?"

She knew that Pharah would catch her.

She watched through the visor, the beautiful face. Felt the strong arms that held her.

And Hana, lost her mecha and thrown to the sky, smiled. Smiled like she had everything in the world.

Hana wrapped her arms around Fareeha, and kissed her on the cheeks.

"Ha, Hana!?"

"My hero!"

She laughed, and it was such a bright sound to hear, so that Fareeha only sighed in exasperation.

'I don't hit GG that easily!'

Hana thought, squeezing her hand into a fist.

A/N: There's nothing like waking up to an inbox full of favs, follows, and reviews. I love each and every one of you, my dear readers. Thank you so much.


	4. Chapter 4

4

She nearly had her, the little bird. She was right inside her scope, and it was... it was...

now─

"Hey, love. What'cha doing?"

Widowmaker did not turn around. "Trying to catch a little birdie."

But nor did she shoot. Lena stood right beside her, and looked into the scope, their cheeks almost touching.

"She's not there anymore."

"That's your fault. I had her right in my sight."

"Too bad," Lena said playfully, "the cavalry's here, to protect the innocent."

Widowmaker frowned. "Where did that cheesy line come from."

"From 'the birdie'."

"Ugh."

"I just knew you'd hate it. What're you doing here by the way, love?"

"Oh, the usual. Trying to snipe some clumsy, annoying, bothersome enemy agents, but some person's not helping me at all."

"Does that include Overwatch?"

"Well yes, as a matter of fact. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm trying to see if Talon has been pulling some strings behind back of this entire robot rebellion thing here. And guess who I found? A Talon agent!"

"Congratulations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to return to my job."

With that Widowmaker pointed her gun at Lena.

"Can't let you do that!"

Lena pulled out her own set of guns. They fired at the same time.

x

"Yup, Talon was behind it alright." Lena reported to Winston. "I fought with Widowmaker and saw other Talon agents. No doubt about it."

"Thank you... but could you tell me why you seem so happy?"

"Oh, I'm just happy we have such a fine day today!"

"It's raining."

"Well, maybe we'll have fine day tomorrow! Anyway, gotta go! See ya!"

With that Lena blinked out of the room, leaving Winston to shake his head alone.

x

Upon returning, Fareeha first took off her Raptora suit, laid down her weapons, and proceeded to take care of them. Unload the rockets, clean them, oil them, case them, and only then was she allowed to rest. A soldier keeps her weapons ready. Second thing you learn in the academy. And when Fareeha got back to her quarters, she fell straight to bed, and fell asleep, her body overburdened.

She dreaming before she even knew it.

"Faree..." Angela called as her hands brushed down, from her shoulders to her waist, then trailing back again, and again and again each time raising the flames burning inside Fareha's body.

"Angela..."

Fareeha whispered into her ear. Where Angela's breath had been on felt as if flames had glazed over them.

Angela's body, naked and pearl and glorious, was under her own.

"Take me, Fareeha." She said, and smiled seductively.

Like a witch.

"I want you, Faree."

Fareeha woke up.

Then she buried her face in her pillow, and called herself every single name she could think of(which, being a soldier, was a lot).

Was she insane? Was she crazy? Taking a girl in dreams because she couldn't take her in real life? She wasn't a horny teenager anymore!

Almost.

She sighed into her pillows.

She liked it though.

Humiliating to admit, but yes, she wished for it. For the dream to last more. Is it now alright, conscience?

And the heat had continued over from the dream.

A hand slid out from under the pillows, crawled down. Past her shoulders, breasts, waist...

"Fareeha? Are you here?"

Fareeha jumped at the sound of Angela's voice, her heart fluttering in her chest. She quickly greeted her in, and noticed Angela did not seem herself. She looked cold. Distant, even. Not to mention she held a bottle of Whiskey... with two glasses.

"...Would you please spend some time with me, Fareeha?"

"...Sure."

Fareeha said, before taking the classes on the table. Angela looked like she would drop them any second.

Wordlessly, they poured their shots and swallowed. The scorching liquid went down, lilting a different kind of flames from which had been bothering Fareeha.

"More."

Angela said, before downing another, then another. She was satisfied only after the third; she started to mildly sip on the amber drink.

"...what happened?"

An idiot could know that something had happened to Angela, and Fareeha was not an idiot.

"I lost a patient."

the sentence was flat, cold, and heartless. Angela drank down another shot.

Fareeha did not know what to say to a doctor who had lost a patient, but she knew what to to a soldier who has lost comrade or subordinate.

She took Angela's hand, then roughly pulled her into her arms.

"You're forgiven to cry."

Angela's blue eyes widened.

Then tears gathered, and the doctor cried.

She cried for a long time. And for it all Fareeha sat there, her body uncomfortable, but not moving an inch for Angela.

When at last she was done, Angela's eyes were puffed and red, and she wiped away at them, tears still streaming down.

"...Thank you, Fareeha."

"Anytime." She said, then repeated. "Anytime."

"...Would you still like to drink?"

Angela asked, and Fareeha smiled.

"I'll show you how a soldier drinks."

"As a doctor I shouldn't let you, but I'm rather fancied."

It seemed that all the shots were now hitting, because Angela's face has became a very pretty shade of red.

This time they drank, they took it slower, enjoying each taste and fragrance as they did so.

"I am rather surprised that you would lose anyone. Aren't you famed for even resurrecting the dead?"

"That's exaggeration... although I have made a few organs work again. Including the brain."

"...Wait a second isn't death defined by stop of─"

"We should get something to eat. Let's go to the kitchen."

"...Alright." Fareeha said. It was late into the night. No one would be there.

Someone was there, and it was Hana Song, munching Doritos and playing phone games. She raised her brows at the sight of strong liquor plus doctor, then realized she wasn't exactly being healthy either.

Then she noticed Fareeha was beside her. Being together. Again.

"...Hello." Hana said, sounding a little grumpy though she tried to hide, but alcohol blurred it for them.

"Hi, Hana."

Angela said, and Hana only said back hi.

"Hello."

Fareeha said, and her face lit up.

Anyone else would have caught it. But Fareeha was quite tipsy, and Angela wouldn't have been able to even if she wasn't.

"Whazzat you guys are drinking?" Hana asked.

"Whiskey. Would you like some?" Angela asked, and Fareeha frowned at that.

"Hold on. Is she even legal...?"

"I'm nineteen!" Hana said in exasperation.

"But I thought the limit was twenty in Asian countries."

"That's Japan. Korea's nineteen."

Hana went to the cupboard and got herself a glass, and held it out for Fareeha.

"C'mon."

Fareeha shrugged, then poured. Hana took the glass to her lips, then drained the shot in one sitting, much to older women's amazement and amusement.

"Kyaaaa! That's nice! C'mon, one more!"

x

Fareeha had been a captain, and that meant she was used to taking care of people. She also had experience in taking care of drunk people, as soldiers were heavy drinkers.

None of them had prepared her for this.

"Faree~" Angela giggled as she clung to Fareeha's right arm, "Come on, try this peach. Reeaaaly sweet."

"Parah~!" Hana, laughing like a child and mispronouncing Fareeha's code name, clung to Fareeha's left arm, "These rabbit-shaped apples are so cute! Come on, have one!"

"I, uhm..."

"Faree~?"

"Parah~?"

Wordlessly, Fareeha took the peach, swallowed, took the apple, swallowed. She managed this impressive feat without choking.

Both of them drunk, neither really noticed that they weren't the only one getting attention. Fareeha supressed a sigh. But how was she supposed to know that Hana would challenge Angela to a drinking contest? And that she would accept?

The consequence was taking people of two people flat drunk, and not yet satisfied either.

"So~ here we go again~!"

"Top to the bottom!"

And they drained the glass full of Vodka. Fareeha sipped her own to keep pace.

"You two really should stop."Fareeha said, and tried to grab the bottle, on which two other sets of hands were suddenly on.

"No no Ah'm not drunk at all."

"The world could use more alcohol."

Fareeha sighed, and pressed her forehead. Hana stared at her before saying,

"Do you know you're really beautiful Parah?"

"...Huh?"

"Yeah! She is!"

This came from Angela, who strongly put down the glass to prove her point.

"You're skin's so smooth, brow's so clear..."

"Eyes like black crystal, skin like chocolate..."

"Tall, but slim, shapely muscled..."

"ferocious as lion, bright as sun..."

"A, Angela? Hana?"

With each word they drew closer, and closer, so that Fareeha could feel their breath, alcohol-ladened but sweet, on her cheeks.

"Silky black hair, steady arms..."

"Steady as eagle, arms like steel..."

Then their lips touched Fareeha's cheeks at the same time.

Fareeha's heart fluttered, dropped, stopped, then began to beat at a ferocious pace.

"H, Hey!?"

They didn't act as if they heard. Hana's lips moved from her cheeks to earlobe, gently biting the soft flesh there, then moving downward to the back of neck. Angela's lips went to the temples, kissing, then went to the above of the brows, to eyelids, forcing her eyes closed.

One of Hana's hands began to fondle around Fareeha's waist, tracing the muscled lines along before slipping down. Angela's hand traced the line of her back, massaging the shoulder blades and muscles before tracing up─

"I, I need water!"

Fareeha nearly shouted before she got up, and made it to the bathroom.

Her body felt so hot.

So burning hot.

x

When she made it back after being suitably cooled, both women were sprawled on the table, the bottle of vodka gone, and sleeping very soundly. Fareeha looked at them, pressed between her eyes, sighed, and then began to carry them one by on to their room. Angela first, because she knew where her room was. Then Hana, being careful not to touch her more than necessary, and asking her way around.

Hana's room was as filled with gaming related items as much as Angela's was filled with medical related ones.

She had just laid the younger girl on bed, when she suddenly mumbled,

"Parah...?"

Then she said something in Korean Fareeha could not understand.

"I'm here." Fareeha said.

And then Hana's arms were suddenly around her.

And her lips, so very close they were almost touching. No, they were going to touch─

Fareeha broke free as quickly as possible.

That was close. Too close.

Fareeha left the room, Her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

What would have happened if she had not refused? What then? How far would Hana have gone?

A sweet shudder ran through Fareeha's body.

She did find Hana attractive; anyone would have. The girl was pretty, charming, and full of enthusiasm. She liked her... as a friend.

But call her old-schooled or old-fashioned or whatever, Fareeha did not believe that chasing another woman while asking for one's hand was very much civil.

Fareeha breathed out as if she wanted to take out everything she had inside, then breathed in deeply.

Good. That felt better.

Fareeha remembered she should clean up the kitchen. But when she headed there, it was already spot-on, and Satya was putting around the rest of the dishes.

"Satya! I'm sorry, I was just about to clean it up myself."

"It's quite alright." Satya said, then looked up and down and Fareeha. "You seem quite drunk. Perhaps you should take some rest."

"I will. Thank you."

x

In the solitary of her own room Hana stared at the ceiling.

Then she said "dammit." under her breath before she went to sleep under the covers.

x

Winston was late up into the night when he was visited by Lena, who was in her pajamas.

"Whatcha doing Winston? Aren't you gonna sleep?"

"I really should... but I have this new idea that has me excited."

"What is it?" Lena asked, perplexed.

On the screen, he showed two pictures: one of Fareeha in her Reptora suit... and Angela in her Valkyrie suit.

"I have been wondering what would happen if we combined Reptora suit's agility with Valkyrie suit's team-following abilities. Problem is, I cannot put in all that in just a single suit."

"Then make it double!"

Lena went to the screen, and made two pictures together... until it looked as if Fareeha was flying with Angela behind.

"See? This way they could fly together! That's so romantic!"


	5. Chapter 5

5

When Mercy woke up, she calmly reaccounted yesterday's happenings, buried her face in the pillow, and called herself every name she knew of, which, being a doctor, was a lot.

Was she insane? What had she done, kissing and flirting with Fareeha like that? She genuinely liked her. Fareeha was the only person the doctor could count as a close friend; the best friend, she could say. And she goes out and try to make out with her? That was so no-way she could say no-way till the sun set and still not be enough.

Angela stared at the ceiling as the realization dawned on her.

She was attracted to Fareeha.

And more than just as a friend.

Angela closed her eyes because she was weary. And because she didn't want to see the image of someone that she had once respected.

And loved.

Ana. Ana Amari.

Angela had lied. She knew exactly who Fareeha was the moment she saw her. No one would have thought otherwise, seeing how closely resembled they are. She lied, because she wanted to meet her not as Ana's daughter, just Fareeha.

A new comrade, she knew how to handle. How to befriend.

Daughter of the person you once loved was a different matter completely.

Ana married and had a child with someone Angela was not, and that was Fareeha. How was she supposed to deal with that fact? She was living proof that Angela was not chosen. She was also a splitting image of a woman she had once loved.

And she was a woman beautiful, external and internal, of her own.

Which Fareeha was she seeing? Why was Angela attracted to her?

She did not know. Could not tell.

And thus, she could not allow herself to be attracted. Not now. Not when she did not know.

A painful pang stabbed her heart at that second. Angela pressed a hand to her heart, trying to stifle it.

A sigh escaped pink lips.

She'll try to avoid her as much as she could.

That would be for the best.

x

The mission to Austria was announced that day. It was a small transportation mission, with only Fareeha and Angela as the members.

On the flight to Austria, they both pretended sleep. But then they were told that they must wait two more days in order to receive the item they were supposed to carry back. Winston told them they could use the time as they wanted, as long as they kept watch.

x

Between the two, it was Fareeha who spoke first.

"Angela?"

"Y, Yes?"

She said from beside Fareeha, seated on the shotgun, Fareeha was driving, her hands steady on the wheels.

"You haven't spoken anything to me since yesterday... is anything the matter?"

Angela blinked, then thought, 'Maybe she didn't remember what happened last night.'

Which was great.

"I just... had things to think on. Patients."

It was first time in life Angela disguised something with her job.

Fareeha nodded. "Still thinking?"

"Actually I'm quite done."

Fareeha smiled, and it sent a sweet shiver down Angela's spine.

"I was about to suggest that we tour this city using the time we have. What do you think?"

"I suppose we may. We don't really have much to do, really."

The answer slipped out from Angela before she even though about it, and Fareeha said,

"That's great, because we're already there."

"Huh?"

Only then did Angela realize they were not on the way to the hotel. Then the buildings cleared, and there was a church.

Angela did not know much about churches. Swiss churches were known for being extremely simple. But she could see that this one was tall, majestic, and beautiful.

"Let's go in."

Fareeha said, and lead Angela inside.

It was as beautiful as it was outside. The entire building was whiter then snow, ladened with gold, marble statue of the holy ones, realistic as if they would come to life, decorated the walls and the altar.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." Fareeha whispered. "I'm sort of a Islamic, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the beauty."

"It really is," Angela said, awed. She had never seen the likes of this in her life.

"Are you Christian? Just curious."

"'Sort of'." Angela laughed, "My parents were religious... I'm not. But let's not talk of religion; they always call for trouble."

"Agreed." Fareeha said, "Let's just talk about how beautiful this building is. It must be wonderful to be wedded here."

Angela blinked. "They wed people here?"

"A lot, in fact."

"...oh."

An image flashed in Angela.

Fareeha was in tuxedo, black suit fitting so well to her body it seemed the design was born for her. Angela herself was wearing a white wedding dress, her back exposed and pearly skin showing. She was holding a bouquet.

Fareeha smiles, extends her hand for Angela.

And Angela vigorously shook her head. Fareeha was here, in her street clothes(which still suit her so well) and they were touring Wien, in a beautiful church.

They took a walk around the premises, in and out, then left with a slight regret.

When Angela last looked back, she saw the image of them married again.

Fareeha next drove her to a museum that was focused on arts. They walked slowly, appreciating each arts and statues, side by side.

Their feet stopped by a painting of a pair of lovers.

"I can just about taste happiness seeping out of this."

Angela agreed. "They look so... fulfilled. Like they need nothing else."

They stared at the painting for a while, before moving on. This time they faced a painting of family.

"You know, Angela. I heard there were advances in same-gender children. How is it really?"

Fareeha tried her best at being nonchalant. Wasn't sure if she succeeded.

"Quite positive, actually." Angela said, "If I were to guess, I would say we'd have..." she searched for a word, "the prototypes being born by 3 years."

Fareeha blinked. "That fast?"

Angela smiled slyly. "You'll be surprised by the advance of contemporary science."

Then they passed over to a drawing of nude female body.

They both froze. The painting of an ideal female body was stunning. Soft and delicate, she stared from inside the painting coyly.

Enough for both women to feel a certain lust in their bodies.

"L, Let's see the next one."

"Yes, let's."

When they headed to the square, the sun was starting to set. There was a grand fountain in the center, and steps leading down. People were resting there, talking, gazing at the fountain, or just spending the time.

Wordlessly, they sat down too.

The sound of water soothed battle-worn nerves, and Fareeha found herself getting drowsy, which Angela noticed.

"Fareeha."

Angela said, and Fareeha saw that she was petting her lap.

"You may, you know?"

Fareeha blushed, hesitated, then let herself lose to the temptation.

She laid her head on Angela's lap, and looked up. She could see Angela very well this way.

Fareeha closed her eyes.

And was at rest.

When Fareeha awoke, it was night, and Angela was still above her, lending her lap. The blonde woman was sleeping, and in her sleep she looked truly like an angel, beautiful, pure and holy.

Then Angela awoke and it was Angela again.

"DId you have a nice sleep?" Angela asked.

"Thanks to you, yes."

"Why don't we go get some dinner?"

They dined at a fine restaurant. The food was good, the mood was good, the atmosphere was good.

All in all, it was very romantic day.

x

That the objective had been stolen, they received the news next day. They were ordered to retake it immediately.

x

Fareeha was unsettled. Not because she was in air. She knew air. Lived in it. She was unsettled because there was someone flying with her.

"I''ll chase them on my Raptora. You─"

"I'm going with you, Fareeha!" Angela said, "My Valkyrie suit has tracking abilities."

"What, you'll follow me on air?" Fareeha asked, disbelieving.

Which was exactly what had happened.

Fareeha now glanced back, and saw Angela right behind her, clutching to her Caduceus staff, looking nervous and scared, but still, flying.

Fareeha had never seen a person fly without a Raptora suit. Angela had never flown in her own body. Flying together. This experience itself was surprising, unnerving, and strangely comfortable, like relaxing in the same couch with a close friend.

"Spotted them." Fareeha said, as her machine-aided sight closed on the car mentioned.

Then she saw guns pointing out from the windows, and thought, 'And spotted on as well.'

"Hold on!"

Angela held Fareeha's yell, and embraced herself.

Of the Raptora suit's flying abilities, Angela had experienced only very little. What she did not know was that the suit was capable of high-speed cornering and speed-boosting, and they were exactly what Fareeha activated right now. Bullets sped by, not able to hit them at all. When they glazed, Mercy's healing abilities closed the wounds immediately.

"Commander! Tracking enemy, but they've opened fire!"

Winston, seeing through Raptora suit's cameras, clamped a sweaty fist.

"The objective does not have to be retrieved. You're permitted to destroy."

"Understood!"

Fareeha turned left, then right, then left and right again, dodging bullets fired from the automatic machine gun. Gaining distance each time she made her turns.

"But Fareeha! This is─"

They were in civilian roads, with multiple cars speeding away.

Fareeha did not answer, her face cold, set, and steady.

Fareeha opened her eyes wide as the exact moment came. Angela tried to shout.

Instead of a rocket, Fareeha fired a concussive blaster.

If gone wrong, it would throw away multiple civilian cars into nowhere.

Only the enemy's car was thrown away into the sky.

Fareeha raised her rocket launcher.

Angela realized what was coming.

And closed her eyes.

A blast came, then Fareeha said, "Let's go back."

x

Back in the hotel, and on the road through it, Angela's face was set. Angry. Fareeha said nothing until they got back, and only when they came back to their rooms did she say,

"Do you hate me."

Then she thought for a second, and paraphrased.

"Do you hate soldiers."

At the cold face of Angela, Fareeha threw words.

"...I understand why they are needed."

She said.

"And my parents were killed by soldiers."

She also said. Fareeha's face became pained.

"...I am proud of being a soldier. I am proud to be the sword of the people, shield of the innocent."

Fareeha said, grabbing hold of Angela's arms.

"I am more than taker of lives. I am a protector. I am guardian. That's what soldier means. We're not just murderers."

"I know. I know!"

Fareeha said, taking steps with each word.

"I am a soldier, and my pride lies with my honor."

"I know and still hate soldiers!"

Angela screamed, and hit Fareeha in her chest, her fist as weak as her will.

"I don't want to see anyone die! I don't want anyone to kill! You don't know what I went through when I lost the ones most precious to me! Why do I have to see others go through what I did! We have medicine, we're all suppposed to live happy and long! But why!?"

"I'm sorry for your loss, Angela."

Fareeha slowly wrapped her arms around Angela's tremoring body.

"But I will continue to fight. As long as the innocent is threatened, I will fight. I will kill. I will be the sword and shield, as long as my life is burning."

Angela stiffled a sob.

"Why can't all soldiers be like you...!? I've lived this world for 37 years, and I still can't understand why... why are there soldiers who just kill!? Why have they taken my parents and left me with this hate...!?"

"You cannot understand, because you're a good person." Fareeha said, her arms steady around Angela. "One cannot understand what is utterly foreign."

"Then what am I supposed to do if I cannot understand!"

Fareeha had no words.

Instead she clutched her ever harder to her chest. This fragile body, precious than any gem on the world.

"I don't want to hate... it's painful to hate, Faree..."

And in Fareeha's arms, Angela cried.

Cried like the child she had once been, cold and alone.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Most people who had lost their lives in the Omnic Crisis lost it to the hands of Omnics, but a few had lost them to human soldiers, and Angela's parents were one of them.

War brings confusion. People get caught up in the confusion. Sometimes they die in it.

A common story.

One that happened to a young girl.

It was now silent, and there was no sound save that of breathing and heart beats.

Angela slowly dropped her head into Fareeha's chest, letting her body lose control.

Fareeha caught her as if she was fragile glass sculpture.

"...I don't hate you, Fareeha."

Angela whispered.

"I've seen you fight. I know how you are. I know your valor and courage... and your will."

She closed blue eyes, and let herself be wrapped in Fareeha's arms.

"So I don't hate you... but I still hate. I hate because it's in me, this hate. It's stubborn, and won't go away."

"...Can I say honest truth?" Fareeha said, "I am pained because that hate tortures you. But the moment you told me I could be with you, a lot of things ceased to matter.

Fareeha's body was strong, firm, and yet still femininely soft. Angela breathed out, breathed in, and let herself be freed.

"Fareeha."

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you for something?"

"Whatever, as long as I can get it for you."

x

Fareeha felt Angela's body heat in the same covers they were sharing, and so could Angela feel Fareeha. They were holding hands, and their fingers inter locked.

"...It's been a very long time since I've had anyone in bed together."

Angela said apologetically, as she tried to explain the reasons behind her strange request.

To sleep in the same bed. Literally.

Fareeha had expected more talk. Instead, Angela fell asleep almost immediately, her breath comfortable.

Fareeha gazed at the golden angel for the longest time, her gaze steady.

Then she traced her hands by Angela's cheeks, slowly, carefully, as if she was tracing fragile glass.

"...Mommy."

Angela muttered in her sleep, and Fareeha froze.

Then wordlessly, she pressed the older woman to her breasts, letting her feel the softness there.

Angela's face softened, almost childlike.

Then both of them fell to deep sleep.

x

"Whew!" Hana gladly got out of her prized mech in return for freedom of body. The mech was designed to be comfortable, but that it was cramped in there, there was no way of avoiding. She has just been back from a mission with other members, and she now wondered, first as she came back,

'So, where's Parah?'

She wondered where she could catch her; gym, her quarters, kitchen... hmm... where to try first?

Then she saw an aircraft land, just beside her mech. When she saw Fareeha and Angela come out, she brightened for a second, then not, when she saw how they were.

They were close. So close. Like they forgot the concept of personal space and didn't care each other was right in front of their faces, or so close they were touching skin to skin. That's how they were.

Hana didn't like that. She didn't like that because she liked Fareeha a lot, and wanted that space for herself.

What she also realized was that she had no time left.

Hana squeezed her fists. Until now she had no time, what with all the missions and moving ins, but no longer.

She couldn't wait any more.

x

Lena, born and raised in lesser streets of London, was a pub person instead of a bar person to her core. But sometimes, grudgingly, she would enter bars for a drink.

When she entered she saw the familiar blue skin of the woman, slowly sipping at her wine, so daintily she could have passed for a medieval noble.

Casually, as if they had never decided to meet up here, Lena took her seat beside Widowmaker and ordered a nice steady pint of beer.

For a time, they sipped their drinks in silence. She would have said comfortable silence, but with Widowmaker there was never comfortable silences, only poised, sexy ones.

"I see your sense of fashion had not improved."

Widowmaker said dryly at Lena's yellow skintight outfit. Lena scoffed.

"You don't know how much trouble I had in getting out, do you?"

Widowmaker scoffed in return, and she scoffed like she made money out of it. "Do you not know there are actually lockers."

"...Oh."

So that's why she looked like she just got off from a fashion runway. Lena had this sudden vision of Widowmaker changing her clothes in the ladies room, but didn't mention it. She'd kill her if she did. Always coy, always mysterious, always beautiful. That's how Widowmaker wanted herself to look like.

They made small talk, acting nonchalant but both of them enjoying it. Probably more than each other realized.

"...Say, Amelie."

Lena said when they were both quite tipsy.

"Do you love me?"

Amelie frowned. "That's a stupid question. Seeing you like this puts me at a great risk, and you at your own. Just consider and you'll know."

"I do know but..." Lena giggled, and looked up at Widowmaker. "I want to hear you say it."

"..."

Widowmaker stayed silent.

"Ame~lile~"

"..."

Widowmaker sighed.

Then took Lena by her arms and stole her lips. Her tongue sliding in and meeting Lena's.

Surprised, Lena froze. Widowmaker─Amelie─gave no notice, her tongue brushing the most delicate parts of Lena's mouth, sending down shivers after shivers down Lena's spine.

It was long before she was over, and when she did, Lena was left staring blankly, her face red and breath rough.

"I hope that served as an answer."

Amelie said, cool as always, and sipped her wine.

Good. But not as good as what she just had.

x

Hana came to Fareeha's quarters when she was resting, and Fareeha greeted her in, wondering what the gamer girl had in mind. More games, perhaps? That would be nice.

Instead, Hana pointed straight at Fareeha.

"You."

She said, her eyes filled with determination.

"Me." She said, pointing to herself,

"Together. Tomorrow. At the mall. 11 a.m."

Then she made to go back, before saying,

"I'll be waiting until you come, Parah."

x

Tomorrow. At the mall. 11 a.m.

Soldiers kept time. They were both soldiers. They met just as the clock ticked from 10:59 to 11:00.

"...So what are we doing here?"

"Shopping!"

Hana said with vengeance. "I never have time to go shopping! What's the point of making all that money if I can't spend it! C'mon, Parah, let's go!"

Hana took Fareeha's hand, and she did it with such naturalness Fareeha had no time to protest about the skin contact.

And shopping they did, getting from the ground to the top floor like they were searching for national treasure; cosmetics, clothes, shoes─Hana trying out everything, and making Fareeha try them out to.

Out came Fareeha in streeet fashion, and Hana gave a thumbs up.

Out came Fareeha in simple tee and jeans, and Hana gave a double thumb up.

Out came Fareeha in a business suit, and Hana fell back with her nose bleeding. he then proceeded to buy Fareeha the said suit, ignoring much of Fareeha's protest.

"C'mon, just think of it as an early early early early early early Christmas Present!"

With that, Hana pressed the paper bag into Fareeha's arms, which she had no choice but to accept. She did like the clothing, to speak the truth. It was just that the fact that she was receiving from a younger girl that was bothering her.

Then they came to the swimsuits section. Fareeha expected Hana to step away, but instead she pulled her hand inside, much to Fareeha's surprise.

"Hana, the sea around the watchpoint is too rough for swimming..."

"There's a pool in this mall!" Hana laughed.

Fareeha paled. "Wait─"

"Nope!"

She threw several types of swimming suits at Fareeha, "Go and try them out!"

Inside the changing section, Fareeha stared at the clothings─more like scraps of fabrics, Fareeha thought─because they were so small. Is this normal? How come there are only bikinis? What happened to the good one-pieces, ones that hid thighs, tops, belly, and sometimes even arms?

"Uhm, Hana?"

She peeked out, then saw that Hana had already changed.

Into a pink bikini with bunny patterns.

And sandals. She noticed it because she was noticing everything.

"Hey Parah! Think I look good in this?"

Hana was stunning.

Her body was small, but firm and slender. The bikini revealed most of her skin, showed the clear line of her apple like hips, firm breasts, and thin waist.

Fareeha quickly turned her eyes away, her face burning. Hana noticed this, and went closer, showing off.

"I─yes, yes you do very much! So could we keep some personal space!?"

"Come on~ it's just two girls~"

Hana said coyly, and straightened her back, making her breasts slightly jiggle.

"Think I should buy this?"

"Yes, yes! Now please let me change!"

Fareeha retreated into her stall, her face red and fuming. Hana stiffled a giggle. Oh, she was so easy to see through. So cute.

So lovable.

x

After waiting by the waters, Hana finally got to see Fareeha in her swimsuits, which she had also given as a very early gift(this time it was the new year's).

"H, How do I look?"

Fareeha said, embarassed for showing so much skin, and uncomfortable too; she was not used to swim wear.

Hana gave her a big nod. "Yup! Now just straighten your back, stand more confident... and there! You're beautiful!"

Fareeha was wearing a black bikini. Simple, elegant, and it suit Fareeha very well, with her own black hair and eyes. Her slender yet muscled body, which had reached its specialness, was laid bare for the world to look, and appreciate its beauty.

"Let's go swimming!"

"Oh no─you go. I'll just stay here."

Hana raised brows. Fareeha said, a little ashamed,

"...I can't swim."

Hana laughed until there were tears in her eyes, and the sound was very sweet and bright.

"Oh Parah! Why would I do that!"

Again, she held Fareeha's hand, and took it so naturally she could not resist.

"I'm not here to just swim. I'm here to be with you! Come on, I'll teach you how!"

Fareeha did not expect herself to enjoy the pool.

She was certainly wrong, because she did. Hana taught her how to swim, and Fareeha's trained body soon caught on. Playing in the water, she had never experienced before, and she now did it with enthusiasm of that who had been missing on things.

And she enjoyed it with Hana. Together.

"Whew! That was nice!"

Hana said as they made there ways out of the mall, their hair still moist, new swim suits in plastic bags.

"So, Parah," Hana said to the girl right next to her.

"Did you enjoy today?"

She asked, and Fareeha had no answer but the truth.

"Yes."

"Great."

Hana said, smiled.

And before Fareeha knew it, her lips were on her own.

x

"Amelie! L, Let me rest a bit─oh, ooooooooooh!"

Widowmaker ignored Lena's yells as she endorsed in Lena's body, sucking in like she was absorbing sweet honey, biting in like she was biting sweet fruit, tracing fingers like they were the finest silk, gazing like she was the most beautiful painting.

Lena's body was an instrument under Widowmaker's hands, playing out sounds of pleasure, reacting to each and every touch.

And in the midst of the greatest cry Lena yelled, Amelie whispered in her native tongue.

"I love you, Lena."


	7. Chapter 7

7

Eventually, everyone comes to the doctor. In Overwatch, it meant that everyone eventually came to Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, and Hana could not be an exception, as much as she tried avoiding the woman.

"You'll want to keep this part of you body as still as possible, Hana."

Angela said, bandaging Hana's wrist. "I can speed it up if you need it, but it'll cost us a lot of money, so we'll try the slower method. Is it okay?"

"...Yeah, I'm fine."

Hana said grudgingly, searching for any sign of discomfort, unpleasantness, or things of the like. Nothing of the sort from Angela, though. She was treating Hana just like any other: a comrade in arms, nothing less, nothing more. Angela was known for her fairness(or as some said, coldness), but Hana didn't believe she would show nothing if she knew.

That Hana had stole Fareeha's lips first.

"...Hana? Hana?"

Angela waved her hand in front of Hana, and Hana blinked.

"Huh?"

"I asked you if you had any other problem."

"Ah, no, I'm pretty fine. It's just..."

Hana thought for a brief second, then decided roundabout ways were not her style.

"Are you─"

─going out with Parah?

Instead, what she said was, "─never tired? Always seeing sick people."

Angela looked surprised that Hana asked that, and then grimaced.

"Oh I get sick of it plenty. But who else will take care of everyone if not me?"

The statement was almost arrogant, but her skills made it simple truth.

"...So you don't really like being doctor itself?"

"There's this joke among doctors: none of us would be able to go to heaven, because we're not needed there. That's how things are, Hana."

"...Huh."

Hana muttured before getting up.

"Well, thanks for this... say, Dr. Ziegler."

"Yes?"

"Do you even have time to see people, how busy you are?"

"...Almost never, I guess."

She was the cold doctor everybody knew. But at that moment she smiled, and she was just a beautiful woman.

"Almost."

"...Huh."

Hana repeated, before stomping out of the room.

Angela did not get the hint.

x

Fareeha "Pharah" Amari was a questioner, which made her more than just a soldier and into a captain. And now she was questioning something completely unrelated to combat, which being a girl's feelings.

"...I don't get it." She muttered, staring at the ceiling, lying on her bed.

Why had Hana kissed her? What did it mean?

In Arab culture in which she was most familiar with, kiss on the cheeks were mandatory, and kiss on the lips between same gender maybe a show of very, very close friendship.

In western culture, kiss on the lips were pretty much solid sign for romantic affection. Only very few exceptions.

In Asian culture? She knew zero. How did they do kissing there? What did it mean there?

She couldn't possibly ask that to Hana.

So she got out of her room and seeked out the ones most close.

"What kissing means in Asia?"

Mei said in a puzzled voice at Fareeha's question.

"That is a strange question."

Genji, sitting across Fareeha and beside Mei, crossed his arms.

"Please. Just answer me, no questions."

Mei's eyebrows came to a frown as she considered.

"Well, love?" Mei said.

"Depends on which part of Asia," Genji said, "East, west, south, south-east, south-west, north Asia all have very individual culture. Wait. What part of Asia does China identify itself anyway?"

"Well of course, we're 'the' Asia."

"...Pardon me. I should have known your answer." Genji seemed to sigh through his visor, to which Mei raised eyebrows in mild annoyment.

"Uhm, east Asia please." Fareeha tried her best to stop a geography argument. She has never seen one come out in good terms.

Mei shrugged. "I still say love, then. Or really close friends between girls? I can't imagine boys kissing each other for show of friendship, but between girls, possibly."

"I would say the same as Mei, but instead of possibly, I would say very rarely."

"...Alright. Thank you two very much. Just got curious."

After Fareeha left, sincerely believing she had succeeded in not letting any information go, Genji turned to Mei, and said,

"So which Asian woman kissed her?"

"Well there's Satya, Hana, and some other Asian personnels here."

"Satya's from India. I doubt she would not know that India's south Asia."

"Which leaves us... Hana?"

"Highly possible."

"Definitely."

"I only said possibly because nothing is definite."

"Genji, I'm Chinese. I don't need Zen talk. Anyway, so it's Hana."

"I have seen Hana near Fareeha quite a lot these days."

"...Why did she have to ask us anyway? It's quite obvious to my eyes."

"Miss Amari can be quite..."

Genji searched for the politest word. Mei filled the blank for him.

"Dense? Dull?"

"She and doctor Ziegler do have some problems in that area."

"Oh don't you say it..."

"You know, I've seen the very two rather close these days. look over there."

Genji pointed to just where Fareeha and Angela had accidentally met. Both froze, blushed, and gave each other smiles before walking away, both feeling obviously better.

"..."

"..."

"...Do they actually think no one's noticed?"

"...I believe they do."

Mei and Genji sighed at the same time.

x

Lena was quite fond of gaming, and as consequence was on a great term with Hana. They were in Hana's quarters this fine Saturday afternoon, blasting away at their controllers, Hana using only one hand.

"Say, Lena."

"Huh?"

"What do you do when you want something you're not supposed to?"

Lena made a major slip, and her character died immediately.

"W, Why do you ask?" Lena asked, hoping and hoping her agitation had gone by unnoticed.

Thankfully, Hana was too focused on her game to see Lena's reactions that were certainly unnatural.

"...Because I am right now."

"...Oh."

Hana said that while dealing a very complex combo, which killed Lena's character for the second time, setting the match.

"I don't know about you, but." Lena said, facing the screen.

"If I were you, I would reach for it anyway. That's how I lived my life until now."

"But what if reaching for it would make someone unhappy?"

This time Lena froze.

"...I can't say anything about that."

She said slowly, and put down the controller.

"Lena?"

"Sorry, feeling little sick... play on single player mode for a while."

Hana sent a puzzled look at Lena's back.

x

When it was the time for Angela to leave, she was not surprised to find Fareeha waiting for her. It had become a daily thing for them, to spend time together before finishing both of their days. Today Fareeha had brought a bottle of Egyptian wine, and they shared it, Angela enjoying the foreign, Fareeha enjoying the familiar taste. But what mattered most was they were enjoying it with each other. Together.

Together. Angela loved that word. Medic is a job lonely. You always get patients, but they're always across the desk. The longer and longer you spend your life as a medic, the more alone you become. It was something not only Angela but a lot of doctors suffered from.

"─There was this kid who had just joined the Egyptian army. I had been his direct superior and─"

"─In my resident years I once had an intern who─"

Had talk ever been sweeter? Had company ever been more welcome? Angela had lived some years, but until these days she had never come across someone like Fareeha. Someone who she wanted to spend time with. Someone to spend time for.

Angela sipped at her wine, and it filled her with sweet fragrance.

Time was getting late into the night, and Angela knew she should sleep for tomorrow. But she did not want this time to end.

She wanted more of Fareeha.

More.

She did not realize she was quite drunk.

"Faree."

She whispered, before leaning out to kiss Fareeha on the cheeks.

"...Angela?"

Not enough.

Angela's lips moved slowly, kissing from her cheeks and getting closer to the lips each time she did so.

Fareeha was drunk, and she had neither power nor will to resist.

Their lips finally met, and it was the sweetest thing each other had ever tasted. Musky scent of wine made a delicate harmony as Fareeha's own scent, sweet as flower, and Angela made as to taste, their lips interlocking all the more in the process.

Their tongues met, and electricity ran down their spines.

More. More of this wonderful woman.

Angela's hands found their way inside Fareeha's clothes, taking her hands over her muscled abdomen, pleasantly shocked at how they feel, both soft and hard.

Her hand wondered a second between up and down, and went up, slowly, tickling Fareeha, making her groan in the kiss, a sound that made Angela shiver all the way from her head to toes.

Her hand finally reached Fareeha's breasts, very firm, very soft, sticking to her hand, a texture that made Angela's heart beat faster, faster, and faster.

Her hand touched the only hard part of her breasts, and Fareeha let out a moan, making the heat inside into a blazing torch, for both of them.

Then a sound.

They flinched away from each other as if shocked, their clothes messy, face red, and breaths sharp.

Lena was looking at the two with hands clasped at her mouth.

"...I was just thinking I'd grab something..."

Wordlessly, Angela ran away. Fareeha did nothing to stop her, just let her go.

Lena stood their awkwardly, then decided she should leave Fareeha alone.

x

Lena's next rendez-vous with Widowmaker was scheduled just the day after, and later in bed together, Widowmaker asked Lena,

"Alright, what do you have on your mind?"

"...Was I that noticeable?"

"Cherie, I can see through you like glass."

Lena searched for words.

"Well... I... uhm... caught two of my colleagues making out."

Widowmaker raised an exasperated eyebrow.

"And?"

"And!? What do you mean and!"

"Cherie, two humans─well, sometimes more─have made out since beginning of humanity. What's the problem?"

"Oh, you French people!"

"Why, thank you."

"It's not a compliment! What's gonna happen! We can't have disagreement in the team just after we've gathered again!"

Lena was serious. Seriously anxious about this.

Everyone, including Widowmaker, knew about the old angst between Reyes and Morrison that was a great part of Overwatch disbanding.

But Widowmaker only chuckled.

"Cherie. You can stop people from angst. Maybe even from hate... but you're not going to stop them from loving. No matter what you do, people love. So stop pointless worrying and just let it go."

Lena froze with disbelief.

"I didn't expect you to say that."

"Cherie... even I am loving a person."

Widowmaker whispered, and that made Lena's face turn very red.

"...I hate your French phrases."

"Because you love them too much. I know, cherie."

Lena sighed, then plopped back to the bed, her naked body facing upwards.

"Guess you're right."

"Good."

And Widowmaker was over Lena, her blue skin glimmering in the low light.

"...Amelie?"

"So my cherie has been thinking of other women while I'm here... That makes me very... jealous."

"A, Amelie?"

Widowmaker smiled, and Lena felt both chills and sparks flow down her spine.

"We have a long night in front of us, cherie."

x

Reinhardt and Winston were in the meeting room, watching pictures together. They have been taken very recently, in Egypt, and they showed certain people.

"...It is her. I would never mistake her for my life."

Reinhardt finally said.

"Ana Amari is alive... and so is Jack Morrison."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Added WidowTracer in the description. Also wondering whether I should re-label this story as Mature... oh well, a writer can only go to where one's muse takes to.

P.S. Review, please. They're the greatest encouragement for a story writer to continue writing.

8

There are things in the world you can give up, and things you cannot so easily. For Hana, Fareeha was the latter.

That she and Doctor Ziegler had a thing, anyone can see plainly. But did that mean she should just sit back and suck thumb? No. Because Fareeha was a wonderful woman. Beautiful, smart, strong, and courageous, she was ideal as soldier and person.

Hana wanted her. Wanted her more than anything she has ever wanted.

Even though she could see how this would all come out, she still wanted her.

That's why.

That was why she was standing here right now, on the balcony where they could see the sea and the stars, and here with Fareeha and Fareeha alone.

"I love you, Fareeha Amari."

She said, she smiled, and the stars shined down on her.

x

For the days that followed, Fareeha and Angela avoided each other as much as possible. Even when they accidentally met, they turned away from each other and ran away as fast as possible.

They did not know what feelings they held. What feelings that drove them to such behaviors. There hearts were both confused and clustered, leaving few space for reflection.

And one day when Fareeha came back, there was an elaborate letter for her.

It was an invitation. From Hana.

To come to the highest place of the watchpoint.

There's a single stairway to that place, and when Fareeha reached there, she stopped for a moment.

The stairway was decorated with silk and roses, probably by hands of a single girl, reminding wedding decorations.

Fareeha took steps by step, and it was as if she was walking the wedding march.

And when she opened the doors, she was greeted by the sight of the entire balcony decorated so. White and red roses, silk ribbons.

It was beautiful, and Fareeha was dazzled by the change. A simple room that changed to one of the most beautiful place Fareeha had yet to see.

And Hana was there, wearing a black dress that showed her slender back line. It was one of her most charming part, and she knew it.

"...Hey."

"Hey, Parah."

Fareeha said to Hana, and Hana replied.

"...This is beautiful. Did you prepare it for...?"

"You, Parah. Only you."

Hana turned to face Fareeha, and Fareeha saw that she was smiling.

"Parah, can I tell you something?"

Hana said, and starlight shone upon her.

"I love you, Fareeha Amari. Will you go out with me?"

For a moment, Fareeha could not answer. Because she was dazzled. By the beauty of this place. By the beauty of Hana. By her love, and all she had shown until now.

Hana Song loved her, and Fareeha was happy that she was loved. It was the warmest feeling to be loved, and it was a precious treasure Fareeha would take all her life.

And yet.

The answer had already been set, even before it was asked.

"I'm sorry, Hana."

Fareeha said, and there were tears in her eyes.

"I love someone else too much to be with you... so I'm sorry. And thank you. For loving me, for eveything you gave me."

And there were tears in Hana's eyes also.

"...Guess I knew what was coming."

She said, letting the tears fall freely down her cheeks.

"Should've known, right? And yet, I couldn't help it. I just had to tell... because if I didn't, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. So... so..."

Her face, so beautiful, became ruined with tears. Hana cried, into her palms, until Fareeha took her in her arms.

"Hana."

"But I love you!" Hana shouted, "I want you to look at me, and only me! Not that doctor, me! But you won't... you can't... and I... I..."

"Hana."

Fareeha tried to find words for her, then realized there were no words for her.

So instead, she held her that way.

Still, and in her arms as Hana cried.

And they stayed that way for a long time.

x

'But what if doing so make someone unhappy?'

Lena heard that voice of Hana's again and again in her head.

That Lena was meeting Amelie was probably one of the biggest secrets they held.

Reveal of the secret could mean expulsion from Overwatch for Lena, but that was minor compared to what Talon would do to Amelie. She has seen fear, certain and clear, in Amelie's eyes once. In the eyes of the emotionless Widowmaker.

'What if it makes someone unhappy?'

What if it made Amelie unhappy?

Was Lena really worth Amelie to risk all that?

"...Cherie. Have you made it your new habit? To zone out while you're with me?"

"Oh... sorry, love."

At the sound of Amelie's annoyed voice, Lena came back to herself.

In front of her was the Widowmaker, deadly, dangerous, and beautiful. Her skins were cold, but could be warmed, just like her heart.

"And?"

"Huh?"

"What have you been worrying about this time, I'm asking."

"...Uhm, the weather."

Amelie's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Sorry... but I really don't want to tell you."

"Why?"

"Because you'll get angry at me."

"Why?"

"...Because you love me?"

Lena threw the last line as half-joke, but Amelie did not take it as one. Instead, she nodded gravely.

"Yes."

Lena turned red at that, which the French woman purposefully ignored.

"So, what is it that you don't want to tell me?"

"...Amelie."

"Yes?"

"First of all, thank you. For everything you gave me, for everything you're doing for me."

"..."

"But I'm... I'm not sure, y'know? You're risking so much just meeting me like this and... I'm not sure if I'm... worth it for you."

"..."

"Amelie I─"

Then she saw stars.

Not real stars. The ones people see when they're beaten up. And she was seeing them because─

Amelie─the Widowmaker had drawn a handgun, with which she had wacked Lena's head with. She now aimed it at the sidse of her head, fingers on the trigger. Not caring a bit for the people who were near them."Speak low of my lover one more time."

She growled, ferocious and yet beautiful because so.

"And I'll make you wish you never learned to talk. I don't care if it's herself I'm talking to. Am I clear?"

It fucking hurt to be beaten up.

And yet, Lena couldn't help but feel happy.

"...Yeah you're clear. Sorry."

"Good."

Amelie leaned over.

And kissed her so deep she saw stars again.

x

Angela usually found herself ending up drinking with Reinhardt if she had serious internal conflicts, so he knew she had one this time too. What was not usual was that she refused, very tight, to speak of the problem.

Reinhardt himself was having his own share of internal conflicts, now that he knew Ana Amari and Jack Morrison was alive.

So that sat together in silence, each sipping respective drinks. They continued this for a few days before Angela finally broke the silence.

"Do you know what I'm most afraid of? A repeat of the tragedy."

Reinhardt listened.

"That we'll fall apart one more time... history repeating itself. Everyone coming together, only to be ripped apart... again."

She sipped her scotch, Reinhardt nursed his beer.

"That is noble." Reinhardt said, "To think of others is noble. But why then, do you look so unhappy, Angela?"

"...Because I want something that could threaten what I want to protect."

There was silence for a moment, then Reinhardt said,

"I've noticed how you and captain Amari exchange glances."

To say Angela was surprised would be an understatement. She sat up, upset her glass, clashed her stool, and stood with her face red and fumbled.

"WHAT!?"

"Angela, for heaven's sake, calm down!"

Angela calmly sat down, picked up her glass, and faced Reinhardt.

"WHAT!?"

"...Did you really think no one would notice? I've seen you for long time, Angela, but I've never seen you as happy as you are with captain Amari."

"...So people know? That we... we..."

Angela could not come up with the right word, but Reinhardt understood.

"Well, I suppose quite a lot have guessed."

Angela moaned. Reinhardt raised an eyebrow.

"But Angela, what is bothering you so much? Two people falling in love is the most natural thing in the world."

"Love always brings troubles!" Angela shouted, "Maybe there's not one now, but soon enough it will! They always do!"

"Angela." Reinhardt said in almost awe, "You don't know that miss Song fancies captain Amari?"Angela paled.

"...What?"

"Miss Song is clearly in love with captain Amari. You really didn't know?"

"I─I? I!?"

Angela stuttered, emptied the already empty glass, and deeply breathed out.

Then she buried her face into her palms.

"...What am I supposed to do."

"..."

"Do you think Faree"─the nickname came out without thinking─"likes Hana in return? Please tell me."

"...Well, love, I'm not sure. But she certainly likes her quite a lot."

"...See? I told you. They always bring conflict between people."

"Angela."

Reinhardt said to Angela firmly.

"People love. It's the most natural thing. You cannot prevent that."

"But─"

"If an organization fell apart because someone fell in love with someone else... well, then the organization itself had a great number of problems, I'd say."

Reinhardt told to her as an older person, one that has seen this world and people more, and had things to teach.

"I've seen people flourish because of love. I've seen lives born and grow because of love. If that is a bother, then let it be a bother. Let it fall apart, and be born again."

Reinhardt drained the last of his beer, and looked at Angela.

"And whatever you do, try your best at catching your love. You don't know if you'll ever find a person to love again. That's all I can tell you if you're seeking for advice... but I know what you really want is different."

x

They met, and there were no words between them. However they knew what each other wanted, had came prepared, and they flew away to the place most special to them, the night sky, one holding on to the other.

It was a night full of stars, and great multitudes of them shone above the skies. With the night as canvas, two silhouettes of wings were clear, one blue, one golden, creating harmony."Fareeha." Angela called, and they stopped midair, the infinite sea under them, sounds of the waves clear.

Was she going to say it? Could she say it? Say the words that would change it all, words that would make everything different, including her own life and Fareeha's?

But the words flowed out from her, as naturally as river flowed down.

"I love you, Fareeha."

And the moment the words were on her lips, Angela knew they were true. That they were the truth.

Tears gathered at corners of Fareeha's eyes, and they fell away in a stream alike star fall.

"...How long have I yearned for those words, you would never guess, Angela." Fareeha said. "I love you, Angela. I love the person you are. I love all and each parts that make up your being. I love your soul and the core of goodness that lies inside. I love Angela Ziegler, and I ask you here."

Fareeha took in a deep breath.

"Will you be my lover?"Angela felt tears gather at her own eyes.

"Yes, Fareeha. Yes. I want you by my side. I want to guard and be guarded, to love and to be loved. I want to be your girlfriend, your lover; let me take your hand, I'll give you mine."

In the air, where there is only each other to care for.

Fareeha drew Angela closer.

And let her lips brush Angela's, a short, sweet kiss.

Then Fareeha drew her even closer, and kissed her again, this time much deeper, as if yearning for their souls themselves to touch.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Ana Amari is alive.

"She was one of our most prized agents. A master sniper, great mentor and hero to us all. But she was thought as dead ever since a certain mission... which she did not, in fact, it seems."

And so is Jack Morrison.

"Of him... I doubt I need explanations."

Winston did not. Of the former Overwatch leader, no explanations were needed.

Every named Overwatch agents were gathered in the meeting room, where on the screen, a few photos were displayed. And everyone was either looking at the photos, or looking at the person who was most urgently looking at the photos.

Fareeha. Ana's daughter.

"We plan on going to meet them." Winston continued. "It will be consisted of only few members, as we know nothing of what they're trying to do right now. And─"

Winston looked at Fareeha, and said firmly.

"Captain Amari will not be one of the members."

Fareeha struck the desk so hard it broke under her fists.

"WHY!"

"Captain Amari!"

"I deserve to meet my own mother!"

Fareeha raged, heedless of even the fact that Winston was her direct commander.

"What─"

"Fareeha!"

Angela cried out, and clung to Fareeha's arms, as if to hold her in place. Fareeha came very close to throwing her away before she took a breath deep as she could manage.

Fareeha hit the desk again, this time much weaker, and said in a low voice.

"Please allow me to make one thing clear... None of you knew, did you? I have not been hidden of this fact... from you, at least."

"Nobody did, captain Amari." It was Reinhardt who spoke, and Torbjorn nodded in agreement.

Fareeha breathed out, slowly, then crumbled back to her seat.

Angela held on to her hand, and sent worried gazes. People all reacted differently to this display of affection, among which was morosely turning away. Hana.

"...I beg your pardon, commander Winston."

"Forgiven. But more than that, do you understand why you're not picked for this mission?"

"...Yes."

A doctor cannot operate on his close people. It was the same, Winston was trying to say, and Fareeha's reason approved.

Her heart did not.

x

"...Faree? Can I come in?"

"...Yeah."

When Angela visited Fareeha later that day, she was hugging the pillow, in her sleepwear. And Angela saw a face she saw for the first time on Fareeha's: that of a girl missing her mother.

A flash. Of Angela herself, in a house cold and alone, hugging on to her pillow just like Fareeha was now.

Angela went and embraced Fareeha firmly, hoping that she would not feel the coldness that would be eating into her right now.

Fareeha was tense in her arms for a long time, like a small animal caught, but eventually, she sighed, relaxed, and embraced Angela back, burying her face between Angela's breasts. It tickled, but also felt nice in a strange way.

"...I had lived believing my mother had passed away when I was still a girl." Fareeha said. "Then all of a sudden... she's alive. I don't know what I'm supposed to feel... anger, surprise, gladness..."

Fareeha sighed, and her warm breath tickled Angela, sending down shivers despite the situation.

"Angela."

"Yes?"

"Kiss me."

Angela did.

Their lips met softly, and then parted, giving warmth to both.

"...You don't know how much glad I am to have you." Fareeha said.

"I believe I do." Angela said in return, and drew Fareeha even closer.

They stayed that way for a long time, just like that, before Fareeha said,

"...What am I supposed to do during that time anyway? They possibly won't expect me to operate properly while they're talking with my mother, won't they? But..."

"Say, Faree." Angela said brightly, "Do you want to go on a long date?"

x

When Overwatch agents spent their time outside the Watchpoint, it was usually Spain they head to, since it was the closest country. But today, Angela and Fareeha were on a plane to Italy. They had scheduled a three day trip which would mean that they would be back the same time as the team that had left for meeting with Ana and Jack. Fareeha would be nice and occupied, with all that she has to see.

Angela was genuinely excited about the trip, though. Not only was this the first trip she had with Fareeha, it was the first trip she was making in her life solely for the purpose of fun and fun alone. Yes, the first time in her 37 year long life.

"So where exactly are we going?" Angela asked Fareeha on the plane. Fareeha had made the plans herself, asking for something to be occupied with.

Fareeha smiled. A little wry, but still a smile. "Well, three days are not enough to tour the entire peninsula... so why don't we just see one city."

"Which is?"

"Venice."

They landed in Rome, and from there took a train. It was evening when they reached the city, and in sunset, everything was painted in a beautiful shade of orange.

The city of water they say, and it was right. Water flew threw the city like vein, between houses that retained the antiquities, all colored by the sunset. Angela and Fareeha stared at the sight as they walked to their hotel.

After leaving their luggage at the hotel, Fareeha guided Angela to a restaurant. As they were enjoying Italian food and wine, Angela mentioned how this was the first time she was enjoying a trip, and Fareeha was surprised.

"Never?"

"I've seen the world around quite a bit, but just for fun? Not yet."

Fareeha thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Well, I'm honored to be the first."

─First.

The word rang in Angela's mind, making other thoughts occur. Angela felt sudden heat creeping up her face, and downed the nearest drink.

Not a good idea, she realized only after she did it, as the drink happened to be strong red wine. Angela felt heat strike down at her stomach, and at the same time, marveled at just how beautiful the woman in front of her was, even though she was dressed in simple jeans and shirts.

After a few hours, Fareeha practically carried Angela to their hotel room.

"Faree~" Angela giggled, "You can never guess how much I love you."

Oh I think I can guess plenty. I love you so much. Fareeha thought, but only laughed at the drunk woman's words.

"Well I'm flattered. I love you too, Angela."

They reached their room, and Fareeha tried to lay Angela on the bed. But then, Angela grabbed Fareeha by her shoulders, and took her to bed with her.

"A, Angela?"

"Faree."

Angela whispered, and her eyes were so that it made Fareeha shiver. Sudden fire threatening to burn everything licked her from her inside.

"Faree." Angela whispered again, before taking her lips.

They kissed, and kissed for a long time. Angela's hands slowly crept up to Fareeha's hips, caressing soft and firm flesh from above the jeans. Fareeha jerked at the touch as it was ticklish, but at the same time sensual, and dangerously lustful.

Angela's hands did not stop, and one of them went up to her back, licking their wa up her spine to the nape of her neck, making Fareeha groan into the kiss, into Angela's mouth, and it was enough to make her thoughts cloudy.

"Faree..."

Angela whispered, her breath tickling Fareeha''s ears.

"Take me, Faree. make me yours."

"Angela..." Fareeha panted. "Wait, Angela..."

"But why should we?" Angela smiled, and the word, witch, flashed up in Fareeha's mind.

"I want you. I know you want me. We're together. What stops us from taking each other? Or..."

Angela's face clouded, almost teary. "You don't want me?"

"No!" Fareeha nearly shouted. "I want it... I want it so much you wouldn't believe it... but I don't want you to be drunk on our first time..."

Fareeha gasped as Angela's fingers traced down her spine.

"But why?" Angela said, "Alcohol and love goes well together..."

"You never remember anything when you're drunk!"

This time Fareeha did shout, and forcefully pulled herself away from Angela.

"Just tomorrow you're going to wake up and say 'did anything happen last night?' or something! I don't want that! I want... I want you to actually remember our first time!"

Angela blinked.

Because actually, she remembered everything when she was drunk. Alcohol seemed to have special effect on her memories.

But she also remembered that she had lied to Fareeha about it to escape from her troubles. Particularly from the facts that she had practically pounced Fareeha several times when drunk.

Before she could decide on which to face, Fareeha ran away to the showers, and seemed to be taking a cold one from the sounds of it.

Angela had no choice but to draw the covers to herself, and call herself every name that has existed in history.

When they woke up tomorrow, Angela asked if anything happened last night. Fareeha answered none with a sort of strange pride.

x

In the morning they toured the city of Venice, seeing the famous architecture and scenery, eating at different famous restaurants, and more than anything, just enjoying walking a foreign place with the person one loved.

It has been several days since they have finally told each other their feelings and became lovers, but even now it still felt like a dream to both of them. Each day, each moment spent with the loved one, knowing that she loves you, and being together. They were dreamy, nigh magical. And filled with joy unlike other days of lives.

And later that day, they wore their dresses, Fareeha in black, Angela in red, each awed at the other's grace, and headed for a certain corner of the city.

A music hall.

They bought their tickets, bought their drinks, and entered. It was a majestic place, decorated with gold and marble, grand and great. Angela and Fareeha seated.

Not long after, the lights were lowered.

And the orchestra began.

Fareeha did not know classical music much. When relaxing, she preferred rock. But that did not mean she could not appreciate it, and soon Fareeha was relaxing into her seat, letting the music wash over her and carry her to other realms.

Angela reached out.

Fareeha took her hand, and interlocked their fingers.

The complex harmony of notes flowed over each other's loved ones, and they let themselves be washed over.

When they came back to the hotel, it was silent. It was a wonderful silence. The kind of silence full of unspoken words of love, almost velvet-like.

Fareeha kissed Angela, and it felt so natural to do so. As if kissing was the only thing allowed in the world to do at that time. Angela kissed her back, and their hands softly held onto each other.

"Do we need words?"

"Oh yes we do."

"I love you, Angela."

"I know. But tell me more as we make one."

They kissed again.

And this time, never stopped.

The flames. Scorching, burning, all-consuming. Pleasure so great it bordered on almost pain. Connection unexperienced, unexpected, unbelievable. Delights unlike that of this world.

And her. Her and her and her and her and her and her and her and her and─

After, covered in sweat and weak in each other's arms, body still convulsing at the last wave of violent pleasure, Angela whispered into Fareeha's ears.

"I'm honored to be your first."

Fareeha laughed and the sound was delightful to Angela.

"As I am to be yours."

And once again, they kissed.

And found they had enough embers to burn.

x

On the last day of their trip, they rode the gondola, watching the city of water enfold its secrets in front of them. The waves rocked them gently, and it was comforting to just sit there and gaze.

"Can I sing you ladies something?"

The oarsman asked, and Fareeha looked at Angela.

"Do you know 'Ah! je veux vivre'...?"

An Aria sang by Juliet in the opera version of Romeo and Juliet. Angela did not expect him to know, but the oarsman tipped her a wink, before starting to sing.

"Je veux vivre/Dans le rêve qui m'enivre/Ce jour encor!─"

They laid back, held each other's hand.

And heard the music flow over the city of water.

x

In the plane going back, Angela leaned her body on Fareeha, and slept.

Fareeha could not.

The moment they got onto the cab, Fareeha's phone rang.

It was from her mother.

A/N: I sincerely thank you for all the encouragement and feedback. I really do. For a writer, it's the best thing in the world to receive a review on his writing.

And I think this story will stay as T... although rather bordering. I'm terrified of this story becoming full of bed-scenes only and no story.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Ana Amari was a soldier, a skilled, long-lived veteran who has seen and known war and more. But when you face her, you will not recognize it at first. At first you'll just notice an woman, closer to old then young. One doesn't think twice of her.

Then one sees her eyes, and notice how calm and warm they are. She'll make a good granny, one will think. And then, finally, one will notice the strength inside her eyes. You realize you could break her bones and not hear a single scream. You realize she's strong, physical and mental. Stronger then you. You also realize she will never abuse that strength.

That is when you finally realize who Ana Amari is.

And she saw the same in the eyes of her daughter.

A soldier she had become.

The fate Ana had never wished for her.

x

Ana and Angela were sitting still in silence. Part of it was that it has been such a long time since facing the old comrade in arms. Another was the simpler fact, that Angela was dating her daughter.

"Some tea, Angela?"

Ana however, was composed, although it was hard to imagine her ever flustered.

The two of them were alone, and Ana had made tea while Angela had been busy being confused. Angela gladly accepted, and when she took a sip the aroma soothed her down.

"...Do you know how Fareeha has been since I was gone?" Ana asked.

"...Only part of it." Angela replied, "Some of the previous Overwatch members helped her, but mainly she helped herself... studied, got into military school, graduated with excellent grades, got her job in Egyptian army, then the Helix. She lived hard and proud, Ana."

Upon seeing Ana, Fareeha had ran away, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Angela tried to stop her, but it was Ana who stopped Angela, saying she wanted to talk with her.

A life story any parent would have been proud of. And yet Ana's face was clouded.

"Do you know why she chose to become a soldier?"

"...That is a very private question, Ana. I can't tell you everything, but I'll tell you enough; she wanted to protect the innocent."

In Angela's eyes, there was pride. Pride of the woman she loved and the woman who loved her.

"She did not want fame. Nor money. And she certainly did not choose her occupation to take revenge or to catch up to her mother."

"Then what did she want?"

"To follow her heart. That was all she wanted." Angela said, and smiled.

Ana slowly sipped her tea, thinking about what she had just heard.

"...Thank you for telling me, Angela."

Then, almost nonchalantly,

"So you're close with my daughter?"

"W, Well!? Q, Quite!"

"Quite?" Ana smiled, and it was the all knowing smile. The mother-knows smile. "Maybe a little more than.. quite?"

"S, She's the most wonderful person I've ever met!" Angela found herself half-yelling. "And yes we've been rather close recently!"

"Rather? So you only... rather like my daughter?"

"No! I like her... a lot!"

"Like her a lot... ooohhhhh..."

Ana's smile deepened, and in her face, hair turned white and with new wrinkles, Angela still saw the woman she had loved.

"Youth is such a beautiful thing, is it not, Doctor? And Fareeha, you can very much come in."

Angela turned, and sure there was Fareeha standing at the door, her eyes still red from the tears she had shed.

"Mother...!" Fareeha said in her native Arabic, which Angela was not supposed to understand, but she still understood that one single word. "Why... why did you do this to me... to all of us!"

"...I'm sorry, Fareeha." Ana said.

"Sorry!? Sorry doesn't cover this! Sorry doesn't cover the years I grieved your death day! Sorry doesn't cover the time I tend to your grave! You answer me! Why! Why did you fake your death!"

"I─" Ana began to speak in Arabic, but looked at Angela and switched to English. "I had been weak."

"...What?"

"I had become tired... of life full of fighting and nothing else. But I was the second in command of the greatest military organization in the world. You cannot quit without a valid reason. The world won't accept it... so I chose to live as a dead person instead. That is why the only thing I can say is that I'm sorry. I have no excuse for hurting you, and everyone. So I repeat, I'm sorry."

There were tears in Fareeha's eyes.

"Mother..."

"I'm sorry for the times you have grieved. Sorry for what you felt when you were notified of my death. Sorry for my grave and the time you spent in front of it. I'm sorry, my daughter, for everything my faked death has brought you."

"Mother...!"

"I understand that my appologies are not enough─"

"No... it is."

Fareeha finally broke down crying. She clung to her mother, and cried in her arms, once again, the way she had many times in her life.

Ana held her, and held her dear.

"Shh... Fareeha... shh..."

Of this, Angela watched, and felt tears in her own eyes at the sight of reunion. Fareeha's tears eventually died down, and suddenly, Ana's eyes turned to Angela.

"I see you found someone special, Fareeha."

Fareeha froze at that, her face turning red.

"H, How did you─"

"Oh Fareeha, you two are obvious." Ana laughed. "Anybody would see through you two."

Both of the lovebirds turned red at the not so unfamiliar comment.

─Are we really that...

─No way...

They exchanged glances, tracing each other's thoughts in just that, and it made Ana smile all the more.

"Angela?"

"Y, Yes!?"

"I know how good a person you are, so to say I approve of this relationship would be a understatement. But Fareeha..."

Then she shook her head. "No, I won't intrude on you two. Live your life as you wish to, Fareeha... I also mean to your job."

"...Mother."

Fareeha gasped as she realized that she had just been approved as a soldier. She knew that Ana had never wanted her to become a thought she had cried out all her tears.

Apparently she had not.

Before they left the room, Ana whispered to Angela.

"So, there's no chance left for me anymore?"

At that Angela faced the woman she had once loved. Saw that she was still very much beautiful. Realized she still respected her very much.

And she shook her head.

"Nope."

Ana laughed, very loud and very bright, and patted Angela's shoulders.

"Take good care of my daughter, will you?"

"Oh I will." Angela smiled for the first time today, as she realized she had been finally, properly approved from the mother of her lover. "I vow it."

x

Hana, also known as D Va, has been in a bad mood for some time now. She has been in it ever since she has had her confession rejected, and was generally casting a gloomy aura wherever she went.

She did not like it. Did not like that awkward smiles her friends gave her, the cheer ups, although she thanked them, because she could not cheer up. She couldn't just shake this over like some bad cold and get back to become the everyday Hana.

Because she knew that Fareeha was one of the special person that was going to happen in her life only very few times, if ever. She would have changed her life, and she hers, and shaped each other in their time together, if they ever had it.

Which they won't. Since Fareeha was finally (hooray how wonderful blah blah) lovers with the doctor. No future of 'Parah n' Hana' now.

...And all that was making Hana very depressed.

Which was not good. More than not good. It was downright unhealthy.

That was one of the reasons she turned to her passion, what had been her only love. Gaming.

She didn't bother to deal with streaming, which she did almost every time she played games, and instead got emmerged in one of the best titles humanity has ever produced, going through each and every one in her library, setting new record each time she did so.

After she cleared all that, she felt rather better. And for the first time in many days, she turned on her Twitch stream.

"Hiya guys, D Va's back!"

She announced, and very soon the number of people watching her channel began to rise steeply.

"Let's see what we're going to play today... alright, the unbeatable game! Let's play Starcraft 6!"

The games that she had not cleared over last few days were the ones that could not be. And what better way than returning to her old place─home, almost─than to forget what had happened recently?

So Hana logined to her account, and out of habit, check her ladder rank, expecting nothing more than the number 1.

Instead, she saw 2.

"...What in the fuck?"

Alright, she understood what happened. Someone had gained points while in the few days she had not played the game. If the name had been that of someone she recognized, in high 100 perhaps, then she would have simply won her title back.

But she had never seen the name before.

Sombra.

An account that had not been in high 100, taking the first place in just few days? Impossible. Unless...

Then on the screen it flashed, 'A battle has been requested from Sombra to '

"...Hah."

Hana scoffed.

"Well, well, show me what you're made of, then."

Five minutes later, a large shout was yelled from Hana's room.

"YOU FUCKING HACKERRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

Hana won her place back, by the way.

After the game was over, a private chat came from Sombra.

"Nice play, D Va."

"Shut up hacker."

"Harsh, aren't ya."

"No mercy for a hacker. I'm reporting you. Enjoy getting your account banned, ****."

The game's profanity filters stopped the cuss word from reaching the eyes of her streamers.

"No need to do that. I'm deleting this account."

"...Huh?"

"I only wanted to challenge the queen of the game, that's all."

"Wait a ****ing sec! You─"

"Yup, gonna continue hacking in my other account. See ya."

"You─"

The connection broke there as Sombra logged out. And sure enough, her name disappeared from the list soon enough.

"..."

Hana sat silent for a second, then screamed in frustration. She loathed hackers. She could give lecture for an entire semester on how evil and filthy hackers were.

That was when she noticed her phone was beeping. A message? She opened, and the message read like this.

'Meet me in Madrid the next weekend, unless you want me to create&distribute hacks for Starcraft 6.

─Sombra.'

Hana stared at the message in disbelief.

x

For an Overwatch member, going to Spain was not a big deal. So Hana had next to no trouble getting out next weekend and going to Madrid.

─I'm just going for a trip. She's nothing but a... a... something on the side.

Hana told herself, but was not really in the mood for a trip. She had been blackmailed, by the fucking hacker of a bitch.

The city of Madrid was a city of plazas. There were plazas which were connected to each other by roads, and buildings were all built aside said rodes, making a spiderweb-like design if seen from above.

And the center of the Madrid was Plaza Puerta del Sol, the Sun Gate Plaza. It was there Hana awaited the arrival of the person who has called her out.

"Hey there."

And Hana turned around, to face a person she has never seen before.

There stood a Latin American woman; radical hairstyle, sharp and playful eyes, dressed in casual tee and shorts, like Hana was wearing.

"...You the hacker?"

"Call me Sombra, and I'll call you D Va"

She smiled as she said that, and Hana felt a strange stirring, deep in her heart.

"Alright. What do you want with me... Sombra."

"Oh, nothing too much special."

Her smile brightened.

"Just a friend."

And that was how they first met.

As a gamer and a hacker.

A/N: I'm going on a vacation from 1/1 to 1/13, and I doubt I'll be able to write during that time. My apologies to my readers and everyone who's enjoying this story.


	11. Chapter 11

11

As the capital of Spain, the city of Madrid offered its visitors various enjoyments, and Sombra seemed to be intent on enjoying each and every one of them, taking Hana to places she had checked out beforehand, and taking her to anywhere she felt like it.

"Why the hell do we have to go to another mall! We've got enough clothes!"

"'Cause we're friends? Oh, just come on. I know you're having fun too."

However, somewhere in her mind, deep and personal, Hana knew there was more to this.

More than just friends, she knew as she stared at the woman─the woman who was supposed to be the loathful hacker.

And found her smile beautiful.

x

Fareeha and Angela were taking lunch together in a cafe, enjoying Spanish food and coffee.

"It's odd, you know. We've been to Italy and Austria together, but we haven't been to the country closest to the Watchpoint until now."

"We can hardly say we've been there Faree. We've only stayed a few days."

Huh, Fareeha said, "Guess we've got a lot of places to see together in our lifetime."

Angela thought about it, and blushed.

"...Guess we do."

Fareeha had been nonchalant about it, so Angela could only do so too.

"So where do we head next? Which do you prefer, art gallery or the castle of contemporary king?"

"Wait, let me see the map... what?"

Angela stared at behind Fareeha's back, and when Fareeha turned around as well, she nearly dropped her fork.

x

"Why Madrid when my homeland is just miles away, cherie... I could show you everything France has to offer and more, and we had to come to this city of barbarians..."

"Why don't we start with apologizing to everyone in this country. I get it, you arrogant French woman, but come on, we've been to Paris three times already."

"Paris isn't all France has to offer!"

"What nerves... how could you get indignant here...?"

"Thank you."

"That was not a compliment!"

Lena and Amelie were walking the sunny streets of Madrid, Amelie dressed as if (like always) she had popped out of a fashion magazine, and Lena dressed as if (like always) she had just put on what she could grab. Lena's fashion was actually getting better, influence of the woman beside her. She now didn't look like she had just got out of bed.

"So which do you want to see next? The castle or the... no you're not allowed to steal from the castle! I mean it!"

"...Cherie, you can be such a bore sometimes."

Amelie sighed, but made no move to disagree with Lena. She knew she would never give in, which was, admittedly, one of her charms.

"...Huh? Wait, is that..."

Suddenly, Lena found someone in her sight.

"Shit, it's Hana! Quick, hide!"

Lena pulled Amelie by her hand behind a building, from which they peeked.

"...Ah. The girl from MEKA." Amelie said casually.

"Wait a sec, you know her? Wait another sec, don't answer. I don't really wanna know. What the fuck is she doing here!?"

Amelie looked. What she saw was Hana, and one of the mercenaries of Talon (who she actually knew quite well), having an argument, wearing street clothes, and shopping bags at their hands.

"A Rendez-vous?"

Amelie pronounced that in the perfect French(Hang-the-booze Lena heard for a second) so it took a moment for Lena to understand.

"What!? But... but she's been real depressed these days..."

"So it's a good thing."

"It's unnatural! What if it's someone bad!? I know she's got too many fans to not have bad ones in them!"

Bad ones. She actually has quite a point, Amelie thought. Then she also thought she didn't really care who or how Sombra or the MEKA girl met.

"I get it Cherie, so why don't we continue with our─"

"We have to follow them!" Lena concluded, "Who knows what that suspicious woman's up to!"

Suspicious was a very suitable word for describing Sombra, Amelie had no choice but to agree, as she was dragged away by Lena.

x

"Is that... Widowmaker?"

Fareeha whispered in disbelief, as they watched the said Widowmaker and Lena, walking hand in hand, laughing and talking like they were the best friends in the world.

No, more than best friends. They were... close. Too close. Like they didn't care they had no private space.

"...You think..."

"Yes... but..."

─You think that Lena has been secretly dating a Talon agent behind our backs?

─Yes I do, but I can't imagine her keeping a secret like that. How come she never told?

The answer was obvious. Because she was afraid everyone would... would... well, freak out. The way Fareeha and Angela was freaking out.

Then the two of them stopped, flustered, their eyes pointing to a certain place... and when Angela and Fareeha faced the same place, they also flustered.

Hana was there, with a woman none of them have ever seen before. Latin American, perhaps. The two of them were... fighting. But fighting with shopping backs in their hands.

And Hana looked the most alive she had looked in several days, which Fareeha was very glad of, but who was the woman? How did she meet her? Was the woman safe? Hana was a trained soldier but still, Overwatch agents were not the most safe people in the world.

Lena and Widowmaker had gotten out of their sight, but Fareeha had a feeling they were somewhere close.

"Let's leave them be." Angela said suddenly. "All four of them."

"But..."

But one of us is secretly meeting with one of the Talon, and another is meeting with an unknown person.

"I think Lena and Hana could be trusted... and they wanted to keep this a secret. So we'll let them. For now."

"...Alright."

Fareeha sighed, only half-persuaded and started to eat again.

x

Hana and Sombra spent the entire day together. Shopping, playing, touring, and spending time with each other. Being with each other. Two opposites, gamer and hacker, enjoying their time together.

Yes, Hana did enjoy them. She tried to deny, but could not.

That she was liking this person.

Sombra was funny, pretty, and a conversation about games and machines flowered between them. She had yet to meet a person who could do all three of them at once.

And it seemed that the feeling was not one-way. Sombra was obviously liking it. Being with D Va, talking with D Va, as she called her. Only that as she called her more and more it became diva. Diva, diva, my diva, they sounded to Hana's ears.

Sombra's touches were almost aggressive, holding hands, an arm around the shoulders, an arm around her waist... and did Hana pull away? No. She did not. Didn't want to.

When they exited the restaurant after a very nice dinner, it was dark, almost black. Sombra put an arm over Hana's shoulders, drew her close, almost hugging, and Hana didn't pull away.

'Cause she didn't want to.

─She's a hacker. A dirty, cheating, hacker.

She told herself for the millionth time, but no avail. Still didn't want to.

"So what do you say, D Va? Up for some more, or is it night time for a kid?"

"Hah. Nice aggro. As if I want to be with you any longer than necessary."

Sombra laughed at that, and patted Hana's back.

"Alright, then. Time to go home."

With that, Sombra simply turned away.

"Wait!" Hana shouted to her back, make her turn again. "Don't tell me you're going to hack again after all I did today!"

"Well of course I won't make a hack and distribute that of Starcraft 6, as I promised. But I never said anything about other hacks, did I?"

"You─!"

Suddenly, Sombra put a finger to the tip of Hana's nose.

"Meet me again a week later, and I'll promise you I won't hack during that time... the games, at least."

Meet her again?

Hana felt her face turning red.

"Alright... it's a deal. Just a deal, y'know."

Sombra laughed again, and the sound was sweet to Hana's ears.

"See ya, diva... my diva. Boop!"

And then she was suddenly gone, just like that.

Hana stared at the place she had been a long time.

Then touched the tip of her nose.

"...What the fuck's with 'boop'."

x

"What are you doing, Sombra."

"Peeking? That's not like you, Widowmaker."

In the darker side of the street, the two of them confronted each other.

"Playing with your prey is not like you either. If I know right, you're supposed to be making use of that MEKA girl, not dating her... unless you tell you're laying a honey trap."

"Let's cut this short, won't we?"

With that, Sombra displayed a picture of Widowmaker and Tracer together.

"How would the Talon react, if they knew you were─"

"Blackmails." Widowmaker scoffed, "Is that the only method you have?"

"Aside from hacking, yes, sadly. That's why I try to get everything by it."

Widowmaker paused for a while, then said,

"Alright, I won't tell anything about your... relationship with the MEKA girl. In return, you say nothing of me either. Fair?"

"Fair enough."

"Good. And─"

A sudden, sharp pain crossed Sombra's consciousness, and she realized that Widowmaker had just punched her in the face.

"That's for peeking into our memories."

Widowmaker said to the fallen woman, before turning her heels away.

"...Yikes."

Sombra chuckled to herself, before disappearing.

x

"Alright people! Welcome to my stream for today! Today we're gonna play Starcraft 6! Yup, again, but oh come on, it's a game worth it. Our first match will be with..."

In the system a message flashed. 'A battle has been requested from SombraII to D Va'

"..."

After a moment of silence, Hana checked the ladder ranking. 'SombraII' was at 526th, which was quite a feat, considering the account was only three days old. Unless, of course, she was hacking.

─No hacking for a week. I promise.

The woman's voice rang in Hana's head, and for some strange reason, Hana believed it.

"...Well, guess I'm gonna find out, huh?"

Hana said, as she pressed the accept button.

A/N: I know that this chapter's shorter than the rest, but I really wanted to cut it here.

P.S. This story's page views has climbed over 5k! Thanks for all my readers! I know I've said it before, but once again: I love you all!

P.P.S. Added to the description, along with a little note for the fans of WidowTracer and in A/N of chapter 1.


	12. Chapter 12

12

Fareeha Amari was a soldier who questioned, and it was that quality that made her more than just another piece and part of the machinery called military. With the same heart, she now questioned.

Why did she love Angela?

Angela was a beautiful woman, inside and outside, and if asked, Fareeha could list her beauty until the number aligned with that of the stars.

But why did she love? What was love? And why was Angela was giving it back to Fareeha?

That there was love between them, there was no doubt. But again.

Why?

Why love?

x

"Why, love?"

Tracer asked Hana as Hana hugged her pillow.

"...No reason."

"People don't ask that question without something on their minds, Hana. C'mon. What's on yours?"

"..."

Just a moment ago, they've been playing gaming together like any other time, until Hana asked Lena a question.

Hey, Lena, do you know what love is?

"Well... I don't really know how I'm supposed to say this..."

"Give it a try."

"I think I'm... falling for the wrong person."

"...Oh."

Lena suddenly remembered the woman who had been with Hana the last time she and Amelie had been in Madrid. Only that she couldn't tell Hana that she had been behind her back all the while she had been... been on a date.

"Why do you think she's wrong? Does she... mistreat you?"

Hana frowned. "How did you know the person's a girl?"

Guilty. Red alarms flashed in Lena's mind.

"W, Well, since you were in love with Fareeha, I thought you... went that side."

"I'm bi."

"Oh." Lena could only repeat.

"But yeah. It's a she. Again, I guess."

Hana saved the game, and changed the playing game from attention requiring FPS to much slower management simulation.

"What's the problem─or what you think is a problem─with her? Is it really mistreatment?"

"...No. Well maybe a little. But I think she mistreats everyone a little."

"...Can't comment positively on that."

"Yeah, but..."

"No." Lena said firmly. "You don't say yeah, but. A fault is a fault. You gotta accept that. Even if you're starting to fall or falling or have fallen."

"What am I, a tower?" Hana muttered, "Anyway, she... likes me. I can see it. You understand?"

Lena understood plenty. She saw it in Amelie's eyes everytime.

"Yup."

"She likes me. Likes being with me, talking with me, and all that. And she treats me well. I think, actually, it's the best she can. And..."

"Hold on. I get that person's attractive, but that was not the point, Hana. She's got problems, right? What are they?"

Hana sucked in breath before answering.

"I think she might be a criminal."

"...Oh."

She repeated for the third time, because again, that was all she could say.

Because Amelie was a criminal too.

"Might be, I said, but I'm pretty sure she's one. She's probably harmed people. I know that and..."

"...And you're still falling for her?"

Hana buried her face in the pillow.

"...I suck as an Overwatch member."

"That's─!"

"A criminal... I'm falling for a goddam fucking hacker! That's... that's...!"

Hana buried her face into her pillows again, and took deep breathes.

Lena could do nothing but just stay by her side, her own mind troubled and clouded.

x

A few days later, Lena was with Amelie. And after a date, a few drinks, and with Amelie's lips trailing softly around Lena's neck, Lena finally gave in and told what was bothering her.

"...It's what we've decided not to mention."

"Ah."

The tacit consent that was between them, starting from the day they had first met.

No Overwatch-Talon matter between them. That was the rule. No hero-vilian, military-criminal. Just Lena and Amelie.

But it was now time. Lena felt it deep inside her heart.

"Amelie?"

"Yes, cherie?"

"Do you like it? The killing?"

"Yes, cherie."

And Lena knew that no words would be able to close the gap between them.

"More than me?"

Amelie stopped on her track of exploring her lover's body.

"It's not like that."

"Then like what?"

"Do you, like it, saving people for nothing?"

Lena was silent. Because she understood what she did not wish to.

"I like it. I like the killilng. I need it to stay as me, as Widowmaker, because that is more my name than Amelie is."

And her eye was steady, voice firm, so that Lena knew it was the truth.

"You don't compare what is part of yourself. You can't. It is there, and you can ignore it, but it's still there. Because it's in here."

Amelie tapped her heart.

"In here with everything else that makes me. Do you understand?"

"...Yes."

Lena said, and there a tear flowed down her cheeks.

"Cherie." Amelie said, and hugged her firmly. "Cherie, mon cherie."

They stayed that way for a long time, before Amelie said,

"You only have to let go, Lena. You know you can do it."

"..."

"I'll prepare a place for you. You won't have to kill. The Talon has its better parts. I'll make it that you get a place where you can save people... and be with me still. Be with me all the time, as lovers, as comrade in arms. Just drop all you have right now, and before you pick them up, let me gather you in my arms and carry you away. Then I'll make sure that you're happy."

Lena could see it. See herself with Amelie. Only that they would be Tracer and Widowmaker as well.

She saw herself fighting with Amelie, instead of against her.

And both of them looked so happy.

Lena closed her eyes.

"I'm one of the older members, so I rather have influence in Overwatch."

"..."

"I'll take you back, Amelie. You can go back to who you once were. I'll make it that no one could lay a hand on you. I'll make it that you were only a victim of the Talon. You'll still be able to kill. We have our darker places, worse missions. We'll be on the battlefield together, as teammates, as lovers. I'll prepare all that for you. You just have to forget what you have now."

Amelie closed her eyes, and she saw herself as Lena described.

Fighting on the battlefield together. Killing together.

And thought it would be the next sweetest thing on earth, the first being what she now had her hands on.

"I can't, cherie."

"I cannot either, love."

They opened their eyes, gazed into each other, and smiled, sad and lonely.

Then they kissed like this was the last second on earth.

x

Hana's idea of a good Friday night was just chilling out in her room, so that Sombra had rented a hotel room complete with TV, games, and mountain dew was certainly not bad. Pretty damn fucking good if she could say openly, which she was not going to.

Because yeah, Sombra was with her.

And she wasn't going to let her know that she actually enjoyed being with her.

"Which one do you want to go on first? PC? Box? Station?"

Sombra said smiling, gesturing to the piles of games.

"...Station."

Hana mumbled, then took the controller. Sombra plugged in a second controller, and took it like it was the most natural thing in this world.

Hana didn't say anything. And when Sombra made her choose from a list of games with two players available, she didn't say anything either.

"So, you didn't hack anything this week." Hana said as they gazed at the loading screen.

"No games. I'll swear if you want to."

There was no need. Hana knew she had kept her promise.

However.

"What about other than games?"

"That, D Va, is something I neither need to, nor want to talk about."

Sombra leaned on the bed in the complete, 'I just wanna chill out like this for the day' pose.

Hana glared at her for a while, before sighing and taking a similar pose, leaning on the bed.

"Vs mode or story mode?"

"I'm fine with both."

"Story then. Vs's not gonna be fun."

"Wait just one single sec, D Va." Hana saw a vein twitching by Sombra's temple, "You don't mean that it's not gonna be fun 'cause you're gonna win them all, are ya?"

"Actually, I do."

"...Alright, gal."

Sombra was smiling. The specific kind of smile that some people have when they were extremely angry.

"If you're so sure, then why don't you prove it?"

Hana smiled an arrogant smile, to hide the real smile that had flowered, and took the controller.

How long would they be able to hide like this, Hana wondered.

And how long would Hana be able to hide her real feelings, she also wondered.

x

A soldier is a busy occupation. A doctor is a busy occupation. So when the soldier and the doctor had private times at the same time, they made most use of it, meaning that they stayed together as much as possible, and today was no exception.

They were on the balcony, and the sun was setting, taking dinner together before returning to respective works. They were chatting about what happened to them today, enjoying hearing about the simplest thing that had happened, filling the particular warmth they felt only when together. And during the conversation, Fareeha mentioned what she had been asked today.

"Oh? So what did the two of them say?"

The two was Hana and Lena, who had visited Fareeha today. Fareeha remembered the scene.

The two of them came when Fareeha was taking a break, and after a little chat, suddenly asked a strange question.

"Parah, let's suppose─suppose, you know, don't get offended─that the doctor has done..."

"Committed a crime in her past─or maybe still committing it─anyway you found out she's a bad person. What would you do?"

Fareeha was honestly perplexed, but in the gaze from the two girls, she could see that they had a strong desire to hear her answer, so she didn't ask why. She just gave it to them.

"I will arrest her myself." Fareeha said, her voice serene and certain. "Then I will see her receive her trial. I will see if the judgement is fair and true. If not, I will appeal. If yes, I will see that she receives her sentence. I will see that she is treated fair during it."

And, she said, her black eyes were firm on her friend's. "I will visit her every hour she could spare."

Angela felt two things at the same time. One was being awed at the resolution of her girlfriend. The other made her cheeks red and her eyes swim.

"...Every hour I can spare?"

"Every hour you can spare."

Jobs, relationships, everything she would throw away to see Angela, Fareeha was saying.

Fareeha cupped her coffee in both hands, knowing that Angela was embarrassed being so red in her cheeks. And while Fareeha's eyes were turned away, Angela collected herself.

"...What did they say to that?"

Fareeha told her, and upon hearing, Angela dropped her fork.

x

"I've answered, so you tell me as well. What would you two do, if you were in love with a wrong person?"

Lena shrugged, smiled. But it was a strained smile. A sad smile.

"Well, I certainly won't be able to do what you would." She said. "I just can't bear my loved one getting hurt in any way. The best I'd manage... is to persuade. That's all, I guess."

She did not know yet then, of how her heart would fall to her loved one's words, nor how it was hurt when her own words were rejected, nor how it shattered when she had no choice but to reject what her loved one wanted for her.

"I won't be able to do even that." Hana's─D Va's─voice was low, her face dark. "I'd just... hide. Run away, hoping we could stay that way forever." She turned her face away in shame.

She did not know how much her heart would flutter when she met her again. Nor how much she would come to love the time spent together until they became essential to her life. Nor how she would come to realize, that it was the exactly same for her as well, how her position, feelings, and coping method was the same.

The three of them looked at each others, pretending that this was nothing more than an idle chat.

And they parted ways, each to their own.

A/N: It's been such a long time since I got to write, and it feels so good to write again. Thank you for waiting for me, dear reader. Love ya.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Two words: writer's block.

13

To Cairo, the plane rose, and Fareeha gazed out the window.

And felt so much alone at the absence of the person beside her.

x

Despite many people's expectations, Jack Morrison and Ana Amari did not take back the control of Overwatch, leaving Winson as the captain commander, and stepping down as just advisor. However, it was Jack who met Fareeha one morning, and explained her next mission.

"We've caught signs of preparations of a civil riot in Cairo against omnic rights. We need a person to cooperate with the local army and make sure the riot is suppressed... peacefully."

Fareeha knew Jack Morrison in his most glorious days, and in his voice and gaze, could still see the first captain commander who she used to see as a hero.

With complicated feelings in her heart, she replied, "Yes sir."

Jack grimaced. "No need to adress me sir, Captain Amari. I'm just a soldier. No more, no less."

A soldier is trained to hide emotions. Fareeha hid hers.

"Yes... Mr. Morrison."

Jack nodded, then proceeded.

"Winston and I have decided that you are the most suitable for this mission. Do you accept this, Captain Amari?"

"Yes, Mr. Morrison."

"Good. You will be leaving tomorrow morning, along with the personnels under your command for Cairo. We cannot spare other members, so they will be the only ones accompanying you."

And then Jack added,

"We estimate it will take at least three weeks, likely longer until it will be suitable for you to come back."

x

When she told that she had to leave tomorrow to Angela that night, Angela did not say anything. It was expected of soldiers. When she told her that she would not be able to come back for at least three weeks, Angela looked first surprised, then angry, then sad, then she sighed.

"Guess you have no choice, right?"

"Yeah."

"Can I have a hug?"

And Fareeha gave her.

Once again, Angela sighed, this time in Fareeha's arms.

"I don't know how I'm going to live without you that long."

She murmured, and rested her chin on Fareeha's shoulders.

"You managed it before."

"But I didn't know what I know now then."

They stayed like that for a long time, before Angela said,

"Promise me you'll be safe?"

"I will. You too, doctor."

"I'm safe. Everyone's here to protect me... but who'll protect you?"

"I can protect myself. I'm a soldier, remember?"

Fareeha said, but Angela sighed for the third time.

"I see hurt soldiers all the time, Faree."

x

Cairo was as it was when Fareeha left it in her childhood. Hot temperature, burning sun, people in muslim attires and western attires walking side by side, buildings neither western nor non-western. She had spent her childhood here with Ana for some years, before they moved to Zurich, the way many other Overwatch members did.

She met the military officer who she would be cooperating, learned that they knew many people in common from her Egyptian army days, and struck friendship almost immediately. After that she dealt with the problems that occurred whenever two groups were made into new partners. When it was all over, it was still in the early evening, and Fareeha lied on her new bed, realized that she had the whole evening to herself.

She also realized she was bored.

Very.

Fareeha rolled on one side, then on the other.

Still bored. What had she been doing all her life when she was bored?

Going to see Angela.

No, that was after she came to Overwatch. Before that...

Think of Angela?

No, she only did that some of the time she was bored. The most in her teenage years.

Fareeha suddenly flushed in embarrassment, and shook her head.

On a serious note, she mostly read when she had spare time. She could get out right now, head for the nearest bookstore, and grab whatever was on the bestseller list. It would help pass the time. She would also be able to know Angela's book preferences─

Angela wasn't here. She was going to go to the bookstore alone.

Fareeha rolled to the other side again. Sighed, picked up her phone, and messaged Angela, writing that she had arrived here safely, and...

Fareeha paused, because the first thing that had came to her mind had been 'missing her'. But that wasn't right. She had been only a few hours away, right? That was too short a time to start missing.

Only that she was, so she ended up saying it.

I miss you, she typed, then sent the message.

For the next ten minutes, she checked her phone every minute for a reply. Next hour, every five minutes, next five hours, every fifteen minutes.

She knew that Angela was a very busy doctor. She knew that Angela never saw her phone when she was working. She also knew that Angela's work was probably going to end on the later side of tonight.

So she knew she was being irrational, but─

A message. Fareeha practically jumped for her phone, only to realize that it was from Ana. Just everyday chat, and asking her how it was like back in Egypt. With guilt, Fareeha realized she had forgot to message her mother, and hurriedly wrote back a response.

After that, silence again.

"...I've got better things to do then this."

Fareeha finally told herself, and began looking at her paperwork.

Thirty minutes later, she found herself doodling angel wings on the corner. She cupped her face with her palms, called herself idiot, and gave herself a good slap twice.

"I've got things to do."

She was more than just a soldier. She was a captain. She had persons under her command. She couldn't just stay here, wasting time being... being lovestruck.

She told herself, before sitting down in front of her desk with a renowned vigor.

She still missed Angela very much, though.

x

Angela spent her day busy, as always. Seeing patients, doing operations, reading the latest studies, and everything else. Her work piled up as fast as she managed to decrease them, and it has been that way for a long time, ever since the prodigy made her debut onto the medical field.

It was only at night, when she finally let herself stop working, that she thought of Fareeha. She would go see her in her quarters, where Fareeha would be waiting for her. Probably reading to pass her time, or reviewing strategies. And...

She realized Fareeha was not here only before she knocked on the door to her quarters.

"...oh right."

She murmured, and rested her tired head on the door for a while.

Well, this messed up her plan.

After returning to her quarters─her messed up, full-of-paper quarters, Angela stretched her tired body on the mattress, and looked up at the ceiling.

Wow.

Has life always been this bland before meeting Fareeha? How did she live this for thirty seven years?

Angela sighed, covered her face with her hands.

She missed Fareeha.

Missed her very much.

It felt as if she was cold, and only Fareeha's presence could warm her again.

Angela stared at the ceiling, and saw nothing there.

Tired, she at last fell asleep. Unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

x

They managed to exchange a few messages during the next few days, which was filled with how they were missing each other. But different work schedules made it harder for them to exchange more than one or two in a day, much to the their frustration.

But they held on to what they needed to do. And eventually a week passed, which was one of the worst week the two of them had spent in their lives.

"...You okay, doctor?"

"Huh?"

Angela was in her office with Hana, bandaging up her ankles, when Hana asked her.

"Well, why shouldn't I be?"

"You've been spacing out, doc. Didn't you know?"

Angela was startled.

"You've also got circles under your eyes, and... yeesh, are you getting enough sleep these days? Anybody can see that you're not fine. Not since... well..."

Since Fareeha left.

Didn't need to tell, didn't need to hear.

Angela rubbed between her brows. "I'm sorry, Hana." She sighed. The problem was not that she wasn't getting enough resting hours. It was that she couldn't get rest. The methods she had taken when she had been alone felt as foreign as another culture.

"Let's finish that bandage, shall we?"

Maybe she should try something special for a change. Go to an expensive restaurant, perhaps. She might even take her entire evening off.

Then Hana said, looking extremely uncomfortable as she said it.

"Uhm... doc, actually it's the other ankle."

x

In her long career as a doctor, Angela had never made a medical mistake in her life. It was one of the most proud thing for her.

And the day it was broken was also the day Angela snapped.

x

Paperworks, watching over training, meetings. Fareeha forcefully filled her days with captain's duties, to fill up for all the time she had in abundance. Life seemed too long and too boring to not do anything. Making use of the time at least saved her from feeling worthless.

However, she was feeling it; her attention was wavering. She was having trouble staying focused, and kept fiddling her phone whenever she had time for it. She was going to get into trouble, or worse, make trouble if this continued.

Fareeha rubbed her brows, a habit she had picked up from Angela. And when she opened her eyes again, far away, she saw a glimpse of gold and blue.

Wonderful. She was seeing things. Just how much of a lovestruck idiot was she?

"...ree. Faree!"

Now she was hearing things. What next? Wet dre─

"Faree!"

And crash. Fareeha looked up, startled, in amazement because she knew this particular silhouette, this particular warmth in her arms.

Angela was in her arms, her eyes sparkling, her lips smiling.

Fareeha had a thousand questions in her head, but she asked none of them. Instead, she pressed Angela, her treasure, her love, to her self ever closer.

They stayed that way, just like that, in each other's arms for what felt like eternity, and then Fareeha kissed Angela, unconscious of anything in this world except her. Soft, and sweet.

At last they parted, and Fareeha asked,

"What are you doing here?"

"Do you want the justifying reason or the real reason?"

"The justifying one. I already know the real one."

"I'm on a medical volunteer activity for the Egyptian army."

"Good. How long will it last?"

"About two weeks from now."

"Even better."

Fareeha said, and kissed Angela again.

x

Amelie Lacroix, also known as Widowmaker, was at a cafe, a cup of black coffee in front of her, and further in front, a woman she neither particularly liked nor disliked. Sombra.

"So, are you sure you can make it to date?"

Amelie asked, and Sombra scoffed.

"You're talking to the best hacker in this world. 'Sides, the Egyptian army's got kid's level of security. I'll make it go according to the plan, straighter than a ruler."

Sombra forked her Gullash, an Egyptian dessert she had decided to try out, and found it enjoyable. Amelie gave a look before sipping her black coffee.

Contrary to the popular belief within the Talon, Amelie and Sombra did not hate each other. It was just that they both gave little care for people in general, knew that each other was the same, and made a pact of silence. It was easy being with each other, as a matter of fact, since they did not have to bother making meaningless, worthless talk.

They sat in silence, both doing desk works, when abruptly Sombra disturbed the silence.

"Hey, Widowmaker."

"...What is it?"

"Don't you find it... difficult, to keep seeing her?"

Amelie raised a brow before saying,

"Yes. And?"

"...Nothing I guess."

"Exactly."

Then they sat in silence once again.

x

In front of Fareeha's quarters Angela kissed her, and Fareeha returned it, startled at Angela being initiative, which she was usually not.

They went in, and again it was Angela who locked the doors, who pushed both of them to the bed, still kissing, almost aggressive.

"A, Angela?" Fareeha said, and Angela didn't reply, instead kissed her even deeper.

Fareha felt her mind getting cloudy, her body slowly but certainly getting heated.

"Faree, oh Faree..."

Angela embraced her, tight, inhaled deeply, as if to breath in Fareeha's being, and kissed her on the nape of Fareeha's neck, where Angela knew she was weak.

A startled gasp escaped Fareeha's mouth, and before she knew it, Fareeha found herself devoid of clothing, and when she looked up, Angela was unclasping her bra.

"Angela?" Fareeha repeated.

"I need you, Faree." Angela said, her eyes full of fervor. "I've been devoid of you too long."

It was just the same for Fareeha.

And that was the last sensible words either of them spoke for a long time.


	14. Chapter 14

14

Hana was lying down on her bed, a portable gaming player in her hand, when she wondered about Sombra.

The woman had started calling her every day as a general rule, and after a time, Hana had came to accept it as a part of her life. But for three days straight, no calls, and Hana wondered what the hell was going on. Only that there was no way she was going to call Sombra first, because she knew just how long Sombra was going to brag and make a thing out of that.

So Hana just stared at the phone every half hour, willing the phone to ring.

And wondered what the hell she was doing at this moment.

x

"Come on, Amelie..."

Lena was trying to send messages to her lover, only to no avail. She was not responding at all. The strange thing was, Amelie always responded to her messages almost immediately. She would bitch like hell about how she had no time for silly words and yet she responded immediately

What had happened to her? What was she doing? Questions, they circled inside Lena's head, making it ache.

"C'mon... what're you doing?"

x

Angela was at work. Like always, but there was a smile on her lips, and warmth around her. Her patients came in, hurt and pained, and was healed. People who knew her whispered how the doctor, once so cold and distant, had changed so much.

Angela was happy. Because she was here by Fareeha's side.

Even though they were separate now, she knew Fareeha would come back to her later.

And so she was happy.

That was all.

x

It was not the first mission they worked together, but it was the first only two of them were the members. Sombra sat before her computer, Widowmaker was crouched on top of the roof, her Widow's kiss with her.

With only a few minutes left until the mission started, Sombra said across the line.

"Hey, Widowmaker."

"What is it?"

"This Pharah... I heard she was pretty close with D VA."

"..."

"Also with Tracer."

"..."

"...Nothing."

"Affirmative."

Silence again.

Then at the same second, both of them raised their hand in front of their eyes, their thoughts suddenly flashing back to just one person in this world.

They bit their lips.

"The insider says target has started flight."

"Good to go anytime, Widowmaker."

"Affirmative."

And silence again, neither knowing what the other was feeling.

x

Captain Amari, we need you right now.

Fareeha had received the call from the officer she had befriended in Cairo, and was heading straight to the location she had been told, flying in her Raptora suit.

One minute, until she reached the destination.

Fareeha flew, trusting her new friend and her suit.

x

Sombra sat in front of her computer, sweats rolling down her temples, biting her lips until blood ran.

─Hana would be sad.

That phrase. Oh that phrase was torturing her. Please stop. Just stop. She was a hacker. Hacking was her life. It was herself. So just stop and let her hack this.

The Raptora suit.

─Hana would be sad.

Just press the key.

The program, the wiring, everything was perfect. This was going to be the work she would be proud of for a life. How many times would she get to hack a scientific breakthrough. Not enough. Certainly not enough.

So just press the key.

─Three, two.

Just press it.

─And one.

She hit the key.

x

Widowmaker was still. Not breathing. Even her heartbeat, stopped.

─Lena would be sad.

The sentence was binding her. Freezing her.

She saw her. The birdie. Across the scope she was, clearer than water. Time had stopped, and she could count the number of her long eyelashes.

Just pull the trigger.

─Lena would be sad.

Then the bullet would do all the work. The wind, the distance, it was all perfect. She was going to remember this kill for life. How many times did she get to snipe a person flying. Not enough. Never enough.

Come on.

Just pull the trigger.

From deep inside the time frozen, a voice beckoned to her.

─Kill. It consists you.

─Kill. It fulfills you.

─Kill. It becomes you.

─Kill now.

─Kill now.

She pulled the trigger.

x

There was three kilometers of distance between Fareeha and Amelie. It took two seconds for the bullet to travel.

In the first second, Fareeha caught the muzzle flash, registered Widowmaker, registered her suit was not functioning properly, and realized that she had been caught in a trap.

In the second, she dodged.

─My angel.

And thought of Angela.

The bullet hit Fareeha in her left breast, and Fareeha fell to the earth.

x

Hey, Widowmaker.

What is it?

Are you ever ashamed?

Are you?

Yeah. I am.

So am I.

When?

In front of her.

So am I.

x

"Faree! Faree! Wake up, please! Fareeha!"

Muddled. Everything was muddled. Cloudy. She was feeling so faint, oh so much faint.

Light. Flickering. Beautiful light.

"Get her blood! Her heart's failing, bring me defibrillator! Faree you wake up! WAKE UP I TELL YOU!"

Beauty. Such beauty she saw. Was she the angel. Was she the holy one. Hey, tell me your name, I want to know.

"Someone look to her shoulder! FAREEHA!"

Only that the beauty was crying. Hey don't cry. So you're Angela. Well I almost got it right. Oh come on don't cry. You're too beautiful to cry.

Shh, don't cry.

I'm here. So don't worry.

"FAREEHA!"

Is it raining? Nah just the tears.

Oh come on don't cry.

Smile, will ya? I think you'd look even better that way.

x

"We failed, right?"

"Right."

"Both of us, right?"

"Right."

The suit had stopped too late. The bullet had missed her head.

"Well, guess I'll see ya later."

"I suppose so."

Sombra smiled a bitter smile and snapped the line off.

"So the genius hacker fails..." She said to the air, "and her life takes a turn."

Such a big turn. Was she going to be able to make it? Hell, she wasn't even sure she would survive it.

So she decided to have a phone call. And when she, the person responsible for everything, the first and only person she ever loved came to the line, she just said it.

"I love you, diva."

She had little time.

So little time to completely change her life.

x

Widowmaker was alone on the rooftop, but she knew it wouldn't be that way for long. The Talon will come for her. They will ask what happened, and if Widowmaker told the truth, they would forcefully bring her back. For re-education.

She would have accepted that fate a minute ago. Not now. Not since she missed that shot.

So little time to decide. To make the decision that was going to destroy life as she knew it.

Widowmaker brought out her knife, held it in her left hand, and placed it just under the base of her right index finger.

─Hey, Lena.

She called out.

─Will you give me the courage I need?

She saw her smile. Her Lena, her love.

And Widowmaker killed her last foe.

x

Pain. Pain unlike Fareeha had ever imagined. Pain coming from the core of her being.

"Faree...?"

But she ignored the pain. Fuck pain. There was something much more precious than pain right now. Right in front of her.

"...Angela."

Her voice was parched, and when she opened her eyes there was a veil of blood between them. She blinked the blood away, and there was the face of Angela, her love, her only love, her face tear-streaked and red, her voice hoarse from shouting.

And smiling. Smiling at last.

"Oh, Faree..."

Angela began to cry again, but it was a different tear she was shedding now.

"Shh..." Fareeha whispered, "It's okay, Angela. It's okay."

"Don't you worry, Faree." Angela said between tears, "I'll heal you completely back. You'll be able to fly again. Don't worry, I promise."

With surprising strength, Fareeha pulled Angela and kissed her. And at the same distance, she whispered to Angela and Angela alone.

"No Angela. Do not repair me completely." Fareeha said, "I don't wish to fly again."

"But...!"

"I promised you I will return safe. I was forced to break that promise once. I do not wish to break it twice."

"B, But Faree," Angela said, her eyes bewildered, "you love flying!"

"I do." Fareeha said, and it was true. Flying was the one of the few passion she had ever had.

And yet. "But I love you more."

"...Fareeha."

"Just do it, Angela. Please. For me." Fareeha sighed, "Do not repair my shoulder."

Again, Angela's tears changed, and Fareeha was sad that Angela was shedding sad tears.

"Shh... don't cry." So Fareeha said, wishing she could rock her in her arms. "You won't have to worry about me so much anymore."

"I... I...!"

"I know you have. So come on, Angela," Fareeha smiled through her pain. "Smile for me? You look even better when you do."

Angela tried, failed once.

Then she smiled, and she was even more beautiful then the angel Fareeha had seen.

x

"Something's wrong, I tell you!" Hana yelled as she struggled with Reinhardt, "I should... I have to GO!"

"Miss Song, please! You're not making any sense!" Reinhardt said, trying his best to not hurt Hana.

"Mei, I told you! I... I gotta go and see what's happening!" Lena yelled at Mei, while she stood perplexed.

"Lena, at least explain to us, please! Maybe we could be of help─"

"No! I need to do this by myself! So get out of my way, Mei, I don't want to hurt you but─"

The alarms blazed in the watchpoint, and Hana and Lena shrugged off their comrade in arms and ran, to the front gate where the alarm was blazing.

What they saw was something they had never expected.

Lena saw that Amelie was there. In her Widowmaker outfit, barely able to stand and clinging onto another person for support, bleeding, blood soaking her clothes and painting her skin red.

"Amelile!" Lena screamed, blinked to her and took her in her arms, where Amelie collapsed, clinging onto Lena like she was her life.

"What happened! Amelie!"

And Lena realized that Amelie was missing a finger. Her right index finger. The finger she pulled the trigger with.

Her killing finger.

"...Nothing." Amelie replied, and Lena slapped her.

"You're gunshot! You've been knived! And you tell me this is NOTHING!? What─"

"The gun wounds are nothing but a scratch." Amelie insisted, "And I cut off this finger myself."

Lena was horrified. "Why─"

"To be with you."

Amelie forced herself to stand, and caressed Lena's lips.

"As long as I can shoot, I will kill. This was the only way I could think of that would stop me from killing, and let me be at your side... why are you crying, cherie?"

"I... I didn't want you to... mutilate yourself!"

Lena was crying, crying harder than she has ever in her life, and Amelie smiled wryly at that.

"Well I'm touched. It was worth it."

"Worth WHAT!?"

"This."

And Amelie kissed the crying girl on the lips, deep enough to stifle up her tears.

"What have you been doing. What the fucking hell have you been doing!"

Hana raged at the bloodied, torn sight of Sombra, to which the older woman shrugged, smiled, and said,

"Uhm, hack whatever I could get my hands on and turn the Talon to my enemy?"

Hana hit her, and Sombra playfully collapsed into Hana's arms.

"But you didn't take sides! You said it yourself! That you never make enemies!"

"Well yeah, that changed. 'Cause I'm joining Overwatch today."

Hana was baffled. "Wh, Why!?"

"Well... 'cause that's the only way I can stay by your side." Sombra smiled, almost nonchalant. "Don't make me say it, you idiot. It's embarrassing."

Hana fumed. "You're the idiot here! What were you thinking, hacking from the Talon! They're dangerous!"

"Well what are you thinking, fighting them?"

Hana didn't have a smart comeback for that.

"Oh, stop caring about such little things, diva." Sombra said, "Instead, think about what's gonna happen now that I'm living next to you."

"Wh, what do you mean?"

Sombra leaned in, and whispered in Hana's ears. Hana's face turned so red she looked like she wore red paint.

"And we start with... this."

With that Sombra kissed Hana, their first time on the lips

And Hana found it so sweet she could think of nothing else.

x

The medical helicopter hovered over the watchpoint and slowly began to lower altitude. Angela and Fareeha were the only ones at the seats, and with the watchpoint in full sight, Fareeha took Angela's hands.

"Angela."

"Yes, Faree?"

She took a deep breath.

"Will you marry me?"

There was no hesitation.

"I will."

Fareeha smiled, and Angela gently brushed her hair.

They came back home.

A/N: Have I told you that I love you, reader? Well I do. Just wanted to say that, since this is the last chapter before Epilogue.


	15. Epilogue

A/N: I've said this but I'll say it again. I love you, and I thank you, reader. For reading this story, for following through till the end, for everything. Let us meet again.

Epilogue

"Back straight, hands at the side. The recoil will be more than what you imagine." Amelie Lacroix said, "Look into the scope. Don't lean too much forward. Pull the trigger."

Ten shots were fired at her orders. Followed by ten screams or stifled screams.

"Johnson, you need to stand up straighter. Wang, don't jump. Cyndia─"

One by one, Amelie walked to her students and corrected their problems, before telling them to give it another go. Same number of shots, less screams. A little better. They continued until Amelie told each of them they could go, and when there was only one left, Cyndia, a petite indian girl, said,

"Uhm, Instructor Lacroix?"

"What is it?"

"I... don't really know why I'm here."

Amelie frowned. "Meaning?"

"Well, I had never said I wished to be a sniper... unlike others... they all wanted to be a sniper, right?"

"You're here because I saw talent in you." Amelie said.

"R, Really?"

"Yes. Do you still have a problem?"

"...Guess not."

"Hold your gun. Take position." Amelie said, and when Cyndia did, she guided each of her body parts to proper position. She knew exactly how it should be.

"Shoot now."

When Cyndia did, Amelie's right hand twitched at the same time in deeply ingrained habit.

The bullet struck the middle of the target. Very clean.

"You're free to go."

"I, Instructor!" Cyndia stammered, her face red. "Do you have some time─"

"Sorry, Cyndia." Amelie said, "I have a girlfriend."

With that, the French woman walked away, stopping a moment to tip her a smile, making the girl blush profusely.

Outside, she saw Ana Amari leaning on the wall. She had been waiting for the lesson to end.

"Oh dear, what a poor girl... developing crush on a devoted lover like you."

"...Are you here for jokes, Amari?"

Ana chuckled, evading the sharp, edgy dialogue Amelie threw like it was the easiest thing in this world.

"So, how do you like being a teacher?"

For a long time after she had ruined her hand, Amelie was a little better than a corpse. She obsessed about Lena, and without anything to do spent her hours in a dark room doing nothing, like a spider.

It was Ana who made the suggestion to take her as instructor for snipers in training. The first days were chaotic, to speak the truth, but as she got used to it...

"Better than I thought."

Amelie told the simple truth, and began to walk to her quarters.

"Just try to remember how you were when you first held your gun, and it will be even better."

Ana said, walking beside her.

"...I don't have memories of that period."

"I taught you. Don't you remember?"

"...No."

At this news, instead of being horrified, Ana shrugged.

"Well, people forget things all the time. Nothing special."

With that Ana walked away. Amelie gazed at the older woman's back for some time, before looking up.

It was a very fine day.

A fine day indeed.

x

"Hmm... what should I choose..."

Lena Oxton was at a bluray rental store picking out movies. She was going to watch it with Amelie later that day. Which should she pick? Action? Romance? Comedy? She tried to picture Amelie watching a comedy movie and failed. Alright action or romance.

Lena held two movies in her hand, wondering which one Amelie would enjoy more. Then her eyes fell on a slasher gore movie.

Hell, no way she was going to watch that. Not even if she thought Amelie would enjoy it. Especially because she would enjoy it. That girl needed a dose of normalness. And─

This time, her eyes fell on a war movie.

It was focused on snipers.

Lena sighed, picked it up. Well, at least this one wasn't over-violent. She also knew Amelie would like it. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but...

"...Guess this is why they say I'm spoiling you, love."

Well, she had the movie. Time to go─

"Hey!" Lena yelled, and grabbed the shoulder of the man beside her. "What're you doing!"

The man, who had been putting his hand inside a woman's purse, turned, and made a run for it.

"Wow, guess I'm not that much known, am I."

Lena sighed to herself before blinking in front of the man, tackled him, got above him and held him to the ground.

"Could someone call police please?"

After she handed the thief to the police, Lena walked out of the store with her rented movie in her hands. She got back to the watchpoint, and went straight to the quarter she and Amelie shared now.

It was bigger than her old quarter since there were two people. It was also a lot cleaner than her old quarter as well. Amelie wasn't back yet from her teaching, so Lena changed her clothes, opened the windows, and let fresh air blow in.

The sea was very quiet today, and gentle breezes caressed her.

Humming, Lena waited for her love to come back home.

x

"Great day!" Hana said as she threw her windows open, letting the sea wind blow in. Bright sun, still sea, nice wind. Yup, this was a great day for─

"Gaming while on twitch stream!" Hana yelled, before turning on her webcam.

"Hey everybody! It's D VA again! Missed me? Yeah I missed you guys too!" Hana waved in front of her camera, "Let's see what we're gonna play today... hmm... 'kay, let's make it a vote! I'll set it up right now! One minute!"

Hana brought out a random pile of games, and made a poll. A minute later, the result came out.

"What? Starcraft 6? Again? Alright! Let's go!"

Hana brought out a pack of doritos, a can of mountain dew, set them over the computer, and said, "Ready!"

At that time, someone watching the stream typed in,

"Is she's with you too?"

"She who?" Another person typed.

"Sombra. Obviously lol."

"Umm... actually Sombra's not here right now, guys." Hana said, and the comments suddenly went up in flames.

"What? How come no Sombra. I want Som gimme Som."

"Sombra my waifu."

"Is he ****ing retarded? Sombra's D VA's waifu."

"Wonder what she's doing."

Sombra, Sombra, Sombra─

"Guys! Guys!" Hana yelled into her mike, "I get it but she's not here! 'Sides, this is my stream! D VA's stream, not hers! We're gonna play Starcraft 6, Sombra's not going to be here! And that's it!"

A little silence, then someone said,

"Did you two have a fight?"

"Are they breaking up? Can I have Sombra?"

"In that case I'll have D VA. I'll feed you steaks everyday!"

"Someone **** these two ****ers for me pls."

"Guys! Can't we stop talking about Sombra!? I've turned on the game, guys!"

Still the comment section was full of talks about Sombra. Angry, Hana yelled, "Well if you guys wanna see Sombra so much then why don't you ask her for a stream! I'm turning off!"

The comments changed at that.

"Lol lol lol of course we want to watch your stream D VA don't turn off."

"I love you D VA marry me pls."

"Wanna see insane APM."

"...Hmph."

Hana said, before starting the game. Her bad mood did not last long, though. She was getting immerged in the game, which almost made her exasperated with herself.

Oh hell. It was too good a day to stay angry.

Hana began to drum her keyboard with enthusiasm.

x

Sombra sat in front of the captain commander of Overwatch, that being Winston, with sweat running down her temples.

"So would you please explain us why you ended up fighting with genji?"

"Well, com, you see, it was not like I intended for it." Sombra said, fiddling with her fingers. "But a person gets curious, doesn't she? A brilliant mind like mine gets curious very easy. So─"

"So you hacked his machine parts and made him do a tap dance. On a side note, I told you to not call me 'com'."

"Well... but Genji didn't have to freak out and attack me, right?"

"Do you really think he was not the norm for freaking out when he found his body was being controlled by foreign mind?"

"Uh... you don't have to put it like that..."

"Sombra." Winston sighed, "Try your justifications all you want, but you're not going to get away with this."

Sombra swallowed, her heart thumping in her chest.

Winston stared at her.

"I order you to... paperwork."

Sombra freaked out.

"Oh no! Anything but paperworks! Torture me, hang me, anything but paperworks!"

She fell to her knees, her hands clasped together, but Winston shook his head.

"It's decided. You will take care of the paperworks for our new military help program in third world regions. Take her to her work."

A personnel who had been standing behind Winston took Sombra by her arms and dragged her away.

"Nooooo! You can't do this! I'm the greatest hacker in this world! No, no, nooooooo!"

Her screams rang across the great blue sky.

x

Angela sat behind a medical tent. She was on volunteering program for the poor in Northern Africa, and right now she was busy seeing her patients.

"And... there. That should do it."

She finished bandaging a wound, and smiled at the little girl who was her last patient for the day. The girl said something, and pointed at Angela's hand.

"She's asking what it is."

The translator said, and smiled herself. Because the girl's eyes were on the ring Angela wore on her left ring finger. It was a beautiful ring. Platinum, with sparkling sapphire.

"This means that I'm bonded with a very special person for me." Angela said, and the girl once again spoke.

"She wants to know how much it means to you."

Angela said, "I love this ring only second to the person herself."

Angela stepped outside, and stretched her tired body. People were working around her, rolling up the tents, trucking the equipments. She looked up at the shining sun, and when she lowered her eyes, she saw a child.

"Hello."

She called out to the child, and smiled.

The child looked at how everyone was preparing to go, looked at Angela, then hesitatingly held out a cut finger.

Angela looked around her.

"...Don't tell anybody, okay?"

She knew the child didn't know English, but somehow the meaning was conveyed.

Angela cupped her finger, and a small yellow glow enveloped the wound. In a moment, the wound was completely healed.

The child looked startled, then she saw that Angela was smiling. So she smiled as well.

x

"Vice captain Amari!"

Fareeha turned, and saw an Overwatch personnel who had joined two years ago run straight to her.

"Hello, Kaitlyn."

The girl gave her a shining smile, wiping her forehead.

"I just got back from Hong Kong! Let me tell you what happened over there─"

Speaking, Kaitlyn took Fareeha's left side, and nonchalantly tried to hold her hand. Fareeha, also nonchalant, evaded it.

"Kaitlyn, I told you about bothering vice captain so much."

Another voice called, this time from the right. It was another Overwatch personnel, a woman who had joined three years ago.

"...Apinya." Kaitlyn nearly growled at her, and Apinya greeted Fareeha.

"Good afternoon, vice captain Amari. I finished researching about the matter you had asked this morning. Shall I report now or do it by paper?"

Apinya came next to her, and subtly tried to take her right arm, which Fareeha subtly evaded.

"By paper."

"...Understood."

"Hey! You're standing too close to her! Give her some personal space!" Kaitlyn said.

"Too close? I'm standing at the same distance as you." Apinya said.

With the two bickering, Fareeha slowly took distance until she was away, and made a dash for it.

"Vice captain!?"

"Vice captain?"

"Sorry! I remembered some work to do!"

"Wait! Can we have some tea later!?"

"Can I report by person!? Privately if possible!?"

Fareeha ran, and the warm sunlight caught on the beautiful ring she wore, platinum with topaz, which she cherished as much as her own body now.

x

"I'm back."

Lena had fell asleep on the couch, and she was awakened by a gentle kiss on her cheeks. She yawned, and smiled at the person in front of her.

"Welcome back, Amelie."

"Mm..."

Amelie leaned on Lena, and continued to kiss her cheeks. Then she moved onto her lips, her neck... when she reached collarbones, Lena said,

"Did something happen, Amelie?"

Amelie stopped for a moment, then told her lover.

"It seems... that I have lost more than a few memories. Of before."

Lena did not say anything for a moment, during which they gently embraced each other.

"Well." Lena said, not a bit disgruntled at the news, "If you forgot a lot of things, than let's just make new memories together."

Amelie stopped for a moment.

Then slowly, she nodded.

"You're right."

Amelie said, and let her breath caress Lena's soft skin.

"And we start with this."

She said before kissing her on the lips.

It was slow, and very very sweet.

x

The door to Hana's room creaked open, and Sombra walked in, gaunt and pale.

"Diva... my diva..."

"What the─Sombra!? What happened to you?" Hana exclaimed, but with both her hands moving at lightning speed for the game.

Sombra walked over, draped her arms over Hana, and kissed her on the corner of her lips.

"Sombra!" Hana yelled, flustered, as the comment section flamed up. Her hands still moving at the same speed. "I'm streaming!"

"Hey everybody, Sombra's back. Missed me?" Sombra said, and tipped a kiss to the camera. The number of streamers began to climb.

"Well guys, today's stream's theme is... tickling diva while her hands are tied to the game!" Sombra announced, the color of her face noticeably better now that she had her diva.

"What the f─Sombra no no don't you dare wahhhh ahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"How much can she bear! Can she possibly secure victory!?"

"Sombraaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!"

Hana bore it for five minutes, until the screen displayed 'Victory' in bold letters. She crumpled to her keyboard, panting heavily, then the next moment she pounced on Sombra.

"Ahahaha!"

"Sombraaaaa! I told you to don't do it!"

Sombra fell on the bed, Hana towering over her, but Sombra was as playful as always.

"Hey, hey, don't be so mad! You won the challenge!"

"And what!?"

"And you get to order me whatever you want, just once!"

"...Huh?"

Hana wore a perplexed expression, then she slowly grinned.

"Whatever I want, right?"

"Riiiiight."

Sombra grinned as well, looking defiantly up to Hana.

"Well, guess I'll forgive you then... if you manage to follow through."

"Oh I will... but before taking off your clothes, remember that we're still streaming."

"Ahhhhhh!?"

Hana turning red and jumping at the computer, with Sombra, half-naked, pouncing after her.

The camera recorded until that, and was turned off.

x

Fareeha did not know when Angela was coming back, so she had been reading through some paperworks in the living room of the quarter they shared.

"I'm home."

Fareeha heard her beloved's voice and raised her head. Angela had just came back, and judging from her expression she had better day on the fields.

Fareeha put away her work, got up, and hugged Angela. Angela laughed, and they fell on the bed together.

"So, how many girls chased you today?" Angela asked playfully, and Fareeha coughed.

"...Not much."

"I sorta understand them, though." Angela teased. "You look so good in your military uniform."

"Angela..." Fareeha muttered, and forcefully kissed her. "Never will I see another person the way I see you."

Angela's face lit up at the words. "Really?"

"Of course I will. Remember the vow we shared?" Fareeha said, and Angela saw the day in her mind, clear as glass.

Fareeha was wearing a black tuxedo, and she was beautiful. Angela was wearing a white wedding dress, and she was also beautiful. The two of them stood in front of the officiant, the sun streaming on them across the stained glass and casting iridescent light on them.

"I vow," Fareeha's voice rang across the solemn space, "to take Angela as my wife, to have and to hold her from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow."

"I vow," Angela's voice followed, "to take Fareeha as my wife, to have and to hold her from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow."

They exchanged the rings they had chosen together, and the officiant said,

"Do you, Fareeha and Angela, vow to take each other as partners in life?"

"I do."

"I do."

Their voices echoed, and the officiant said,

"You may kiss the bride."

And Fareeha swooped up Angela in her arms, and they kissed, in front of everyone they love and respect, united in marriage, became a wife, and sworn as a pair.

The claps started small, then grew, until the entire church was ringing with the sound, blessing the newlyweds.

A fond smile appeared on Angela's face at the memory, and she caressed her ring, as Fareeha caressed hers.

"Fareeha?" Angela said.

"What is it?" Fareeha said.

"Are you happy?"

"I am. Are you, Angela?"

And the angel smiled.

"I'm happy."

Angela said, and they kissed.

They were one, and they knew.


End file.
